New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $53.21 Million Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,459 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 17,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Marathon Petroleum worth $53,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of MPC traded down $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,996,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,718,004. The firm has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.49.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.