Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 72,870 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 325,575 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 72,870 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $48,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $685,088,000 after acquiring an additional 43,989 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after buying an additional 96,753 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $415,673,000 after buying an additional 36,987 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after acquiring an additional 178,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $245,917,000 after acquiring an additional 82,576 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $182.55. 1,866,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,785,623. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.92 and a 200 day moving average of $167.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th 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 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Raymond James raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.62.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.