Marathon Petroleum Corporation Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.00 (NYSE:MPC)

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 1.00 per share by the oil and gas company on Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th.

Marathon Petroleum has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Marathon Petroleum has a dividend payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to earn $23.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:MPC traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $243.84. 390,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,492,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $71.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.58. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $136.80 and a 52-week high of $255.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.02.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 25.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its position 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 valued at $6,590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,639 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.