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

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $276.24 and last traded at $273.6740, with a volume of 146568 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $266.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $285.00 price target on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.62.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.