Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Falls 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s share price was down 1.3% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $458.69 and last traded at $469.0180. Approximately 2,206,609 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 2,468,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $475.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MPC. TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $318.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.31.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $133.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $408.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 63.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business’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 transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total value of $375,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,206,145.50. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $621,832,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $380,745,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $280,761,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.