Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $262.48 and last traded at $262.0650, with a volume of 903453 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $259.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.89. The stock has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.24) EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,411,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.