Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $15.34 Million Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 76,102 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,327 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

MPC stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $163.95. 8,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,675,937. The stock has a market cap of $57.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.28 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.75.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.