Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $299.05 and last traded at $296.8910, with a volume of 2143229 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $283.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MPC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.69.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors 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 yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,097 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $212,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,386 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,939.8% in the first quarter. GHE LLC now owns 649,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $158,605,000 after buying an additional 617,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2,175.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 568,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $92,502,000 after buying an additional 543,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.