Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 665 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,873 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 665 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,939 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,406,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,628 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Amarillo National Bank acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $3.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $171.55. 143,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,688,830. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $112.82 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $176.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum 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.