Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum hit a new 52-week high on Monday, trading as high as $316.66 and last changing hands around $317.21, well above its prior close of $312.60.
• Analysts have been raising price targets on MPC, with multiple firms upgrading estimates and the stock now carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $283.56.
• The company’s recent earnings beat expectations, posting $1.65 EPS versus $0.74 expected and $34.2 billion in revenue, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $316.66 and last traded at $317.2150, with a volume of 72967 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $312.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Mizuho boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.56.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.78. The company has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 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.

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