California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647,595 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 60,435 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.20% of Marathon Petroleum worth $90,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $453,427,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MPC traded down $5.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,383,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,650,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.08 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The business's 50-day moving average price is $148.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.05.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.29.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.