Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $245.33 and last traded at $246.4530, with a volume of 771190 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $232.53.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target to $270 and put an “outperform” rating on MPC, calling for further upside and citing the company’s earnings/cash-return profile as justification. Raymond James raises MPC target to $270 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces explain Raymond James’ rationale (strong refining margins, superior margin capture and capital returns) and note MPC’s strong YTD performance (~48%) and proximity to its 52-week high — reinforcing momentum trade interest. Why Raymond James Sees Marathon Petroleum Reaching $270 (24/7 Wall St.)
• Positive Sentiment: Market analysis points to improving gasoline and diesel crack spreads and strong 2025 utilization/margin-capture metrics; analysts and algos are treating that as evidence MPC can sustain cash returns even if refining cycles shift — a direct near-term earnings catalyst. Refining margin backdrop improves and investors refocus on cash-return story (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical escalation commentary is being cited as a near-term bullish driver for energy names, helping explain momentum into fresh highs as traders re-price risk into oil and refined-product spreads. Why MPC is breaking out to fresh all-time highs (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: MPC announced its 2026 annual meeting and a proposed amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation — governance changes can affect shareholder rights or proxy dynamics; investors will watch the proxy language for any material shareholder-impacting provisions. Annual meeting and governance amendment (Yahoo Finance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several retail and commentary pieces reiterate bullish fundamentals (attractive valuation vs forward earnings, strong cash returns) which can support longer-term demand but are less immediate than analyst actions or margin moves. Is MPC a good stock to buy now? (Yahoo/aggregated)
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America Securities issued a “hold” on MPC — a more cautious stance that can temper upside from bulls and provide cover for profit-taking, particularly after the recent run-up. MPC receives a Hold from Bank of America Securities (Globe and Mail)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $221.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.19.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.9%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $202.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,054.50. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.