Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 5,019 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,019 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,382.0% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 153.8% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.64.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $172.06 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $131.21 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.40.

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. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.