Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Newly Purchased by Tactive Advisors LLC

Tactive Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,816 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $410.00 to $426.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.94.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total transaction of $375,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,206,145.50. This represents a 8.20% 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 this hyperlink. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Marathon Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Refining-margin tailwinds remain strong. Rising gasoline and diesel crack spreads, particularly amid below-normal distillate inventories on the East Coast, are supporting expectations for stronger refinery profitability. MPC has significant earnings sensitivity to changes in blended crack spreads. Marathon Petroleum gains as refining-margin tailwinds stay strong
• Positive Sentiment: Buyback capacity adds support. Marathon Petroleum ended the second quarter with approximately $6.1 billion remaining under its share-repurchase authorization. Strong operating cash flow could enable additional buybacks if refining conditions remain favorable.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational and strategic catalysts are attracting attention. MPC is targeting roughly 3 million barrels per day of throughput and is advancing projects aimed at increasing jet-fuel and specialty-gasoline production. Its integrated refining and midstream network may benefit while global capacity and fuel inventories remain tight. MPC Targets 3M Barrels per day in Q3
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target but retained a neutral rating. The target increased from $304 to $457, near the stock’s current trading level, suggesting the analyst sees limited additional upside based on its valuation framework.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed. Some large investors, including JPMorgan and BlackRock, added MPC shares, while Wellington Management, Boston Partners and Harris Associates reduced holdings. This indicates differing views after the stock’s substantial advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a cautionary signal. MPC insiders reported 10 open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months. Recent sellers included executives from legal, refining, logistics and finance functions.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation expectations may be stretched. Several older analyst targets remain well below the current share price, creating potential profit-taking or downgrade risk if refining margins weaken or fuel inventories normalize.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $21.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $464.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,489,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,493,403. The company has a market capitalization of $135.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.54. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.93 and a 12-month high of $467.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $374.68 and a 200-day moving average of $298.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The company had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 61.31 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

Marathon Petroleum 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, 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.