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

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record on November 18. The dividend equates to $4.00 annually and a 0.9% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a 34.2% payout ratio and analysts expecting $66.21 in earnings per share next year versus the $4.00 annual dividend.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $17.73, beating estimates by $3.46, while revenue rose 53.5% year over year to $51.99 billion. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the stock, although insiders sold $7.78 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share by the oil and gas company on Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th.

Marathon Petroleum has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Marathon Petroleum has a payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to earn $66.21 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 6.0%.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $440.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $128.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day moving average is $414.63 and its 200-day moving average is $287.14. 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 has a 1-year low of $161.93 and a 1-year high of $493.98.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 64.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,757.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $875,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,650. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

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

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.

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