Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $129.77 and last traded at $130.31, with a volume of 2106355 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $147.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 5.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. SWS Partners grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.