Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Trading Down 5.3%

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) dropped 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $189.57 and last traded at $189.92. Approximately 1,023,454 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,722,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $193.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,153,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $764,526,000 after acquiring an additional 137,341 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $685,088,000 after acquiring an additional 43,989 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,178,977 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $842,064,000 after acquiring an additional 76,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $500,685,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $415,673,000 after acquiring an additional 36,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.