Arizona State Retirement System Sells 4,318 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,318 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $13,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 4,419 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $5,050,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,946,000 after acquiring an additional 11,082 shares during the period. Finally, KKM Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $224.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.58. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $133.00 and a fifty-two week high of $255.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 23.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MPC. Citigroup raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $210.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $194.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.81.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.