Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $316.66 and last traded at $317.2150, with a volume of 72967 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $312.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.19.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $245,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,097 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $212,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,386 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,939.8% in the 1st quarter. GHE LLC now owns 649,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $158,605,000 after purchasing an additional 617,699 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2,175.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 568,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $92,502,000 after purchasing an additional 543,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.