Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $409.50 and last traded at $395.8160, with a volume of 3481877 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $395.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $265.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.12.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $343.71 and a 200-day moving average of $278.38. The company has a market cap of $120.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.53. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The business’s revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 55.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,206,145.50. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were 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 $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $502,000. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,789 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 928,506 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $237,391,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,224,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 and other transportation fuels, as well as asphalt, propane, petrochemical feedstocks and related products.

Marathon Petroleum operates a network of refineries in the United States and markets refined products through wholesale channels, branded retail locations and commercial customers.