Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.24.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 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 was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

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.