Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Should You Buy?

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price shot up 2.8% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $478.37 and last traded at $470.0170. 1,454,698 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 2,462,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $457.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $400.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $265.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $410.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $410.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.33. The stock has a market cap of $137.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 64.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares in the company, valued at $4,206,145.50. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during 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 boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 17.5% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.