Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum shares reached a new 52-week high of $409.50, significantly above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though the $349.12 average price target is below the current share price.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting $17.73 in EPS versus the $14.27 estimate and $51.99 billion in revenue, up 53.5% year over year.
• Marathon Petroleum declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00, or $4.00 annualized, yielding about 1.0%. However, insiders sold more than 21,000 shares worth approximately $7.8 million over the past three months.

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $409.50 and last traded at $395.8160, with a volume of 3481877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $321.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $349.12.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 48.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total value of $375,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,206,145.50. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 36,834.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 128,810,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $32,933,016,000 after buying an additional 128,461,884 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $1,029,611,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $472,312,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,595,084 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $633,668,000 after purchasing an additional 40,124 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is an integrated downstream energy company engaged primarily in refining, marketing and transporting petroleum products. The company converts crude oil and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel and other transportation fuels, as well as asphalt, propane, petrochemical feedstocks and related products.

Marathon Petroleum operates a network of refineries in the United States and markets refined products through wholesale channels, branded retail locations and commercial customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.