Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $410.00 to $426.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $432.21 and last traded at $432.6710, with a volume of 540544 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $422.33.

MPC has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $413.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Marathon Petroleum News

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

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade helped push Marathon Petroleum (MPC) to a new 12-month high, signaling improved confidence in the company’s outlook. Marathon Petroleum Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target for MPC, adding further support to the stock and suggesting potential upside based on the bank’s updated assessment. Marathon Petroleum Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted MPC as an analyst favorite, alongside TotalEnergies, citing energy-sector growth and refining-related investment interest. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights TotalEnergies, Snowflake, Marathon, MIND and Zeo Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see a favorable setup for MPC’s next earnings report, pointing to the company’s history of exceeding consensus estimates and conditions that could support another earnings beat. Will Marathon Petroleum Beat Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles examining a hypothetical 10-year investment in MPC provide historical context on shareholder returns but do not introduce a new business catalyst. Here’s How Much a $1000 Investment in Marathon Petroleum Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $36,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.5%

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 firm has a market cap of $126.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $369.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 59.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

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, jet fuel, asphalt, propane and other refined products used by consumers, businesses and industrial customers.

Marathon Petroleum operates refineries and related logistics assets in the United States, with a refining and marketing presence serving markets across the Midwest, Gulf Coast and West Coast.