Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,143 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $17,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.