California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 48,765 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 536,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 48,765 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $131,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE MPC opened at $312.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $262.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.34. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $158.00 and a one year high of $313.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $91.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.56.

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.