Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $488.74 and last traded at $492.5160, with a volume of 120,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $478.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $410.00 to $426.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $321.00 to $488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $433.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $417.88.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $140.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business’s revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 62.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total transaction of $375,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,194 shares in the company, valued at $4,206,145.50. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) is an American downstream energy company engaged in refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its operations include converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane, and other refined products used by transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.

The company markets fuel under the Marathon brand and supplies products to independent marketers, commercial businesses, and other wholesale customers. Marathon Petroleum also owns a general-partner interest and significant limited-partner interest in MPLX Inc, a midstream company that operates pipelines, storage facilities, terminals, and gathering and processing assets supporting the movement of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Marathon Petroleum’s refining and midstream activities are concentrated in the United States, with assets serving regions across the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.