Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $432.21 after Bank of America raised its price target from $410 to $426 while maintaining a neutral rating.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $370.38 average target price; Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler have issued targets above $450.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, earning $17.73 per share versus the $14.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 53.5% year over year to $51.99 billion. Insiders have nevertheless sold $7.78 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $410.00 to $426.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $432.21 and last traded at $432.6710, with a volume of 540544 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $422.33.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $265.00 to $453.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, September 3rd. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total value 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 trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 40,124 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,237,930 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $572,172,000 after acquiring an additional 332,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,508,489 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $385,675,000 after acquiring an additional 215,686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.90. The firm has a market cap of $126.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 59.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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, jet fuel, asphalt, propane and other refined products used by consumers, businesses and industrial customers.

Marathon Petroleum operates refineries and related logistics assets in the United States, with a refining and marketing presence serving markets across the Midwest, Gulf Coast and West Coast.

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