Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Time to Sell?

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s share price traded down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $448.38 and last traded at $459.5850. Approximately 2,588,046 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 2,472,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $467.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MPC. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $318.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $510.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a market cap of $133.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $410.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $316.79.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 63.58 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,832,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $380,745,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $280,761,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) is an American downstream energy company engaged in refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its operations include converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane, and other refined products used by transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.

The company markets fuel under the Marathon brand and supplies products to independent marketers, commercial businesses, and other wholesale customers. Marathon Petroleum also owns a general-partner interest and significant limited-partner interest in MPLX Inc, a midstream company that operates pipelines, storage facilities, terminals, and gathering and processing assets supporting the movement of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Marathon Petroleum’s refining and midstream activities are concentrated in the United States, with assets serving regions across the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.