Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Falls 8.2% – Time to Sell?

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) shares were down 8.2% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $379.10 and last traded at $392.0880. 4,008,166 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,469,925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.34.

Key Headlines Impacting Marathon Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $26.93, above analyst expectations, while adjusted EBITDA reached $11.7 billion. Record refinery utilization and sharply stronger refining margins drove the results. MPC Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Refining Margins
• Positive Sentiment: MPC raised its quarterly dividend by 10% and announced a $5 billion share-buyback authorization, signaling confidence in cash generation and returning capital to shareholders. Marathon Petroleum Raises Dividend 10% and Approves $5 Billion Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: MPC agreed to sell its St. Paul Park and Mandan refineries and related operations to CVR Energy in a $4.2 billion transaction. The company plans to focus investment primarily on Gulf Coast growth, though the transaction remains subject to completion. Marathon beats quarterly estimates, to sell two refineries to CVR Energy
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings surge depends heavily on exceptionally favorable refining margins. If margins normalize, profits could fall from the current high levels; selling two refineries also reshapes MPC’s footprint and removes those assets from its portfolio. Marathon Petroleum Refining Margin Jumps 160%: Rapid Earnings Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: A report highlighted MPC shedding roughly $8 billion in market value in one session, indicating substantial selling pressure despite the earnings beat and announced capital returns. Marathon Petroleum Sheds About $8 Billion in a Single Session

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MPC. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $560.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $350.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $318.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.88.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 8.2%

The company has a market cap of $114.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $420.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.28.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $26.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $25.37 by $1.56. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The company had revenue of $56.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 64.12 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,595,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $633,668,000 after purchasing an additional 40,124 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,237,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $572,172,000 after purchasing an additional 332,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,508,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $385,675,000 after purchasing an additional 215,686 shares in the last quarter. 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 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.