State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 6,540 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,540 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $17,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Creative Planning grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 156,925 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,565,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,073 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 158,392 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,804,000 after acquiring an additional 41,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 307 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Raymond James increased 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MPC traded down $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.81. 1,996,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,838,191. The business's 50-day moving average price is $146.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 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 current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.