Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $211.00 to $239.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $232.41 and last traded at $234.48, with a volume of 519780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.74.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $221.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Blowout Q4 results and big shareholder returns: MPC reported $4.07 adjusted EPS for Q4, topped revenue expectations, and returned substantial cash to shareholders—this underpins near-term earnings and buyback/dividend prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $239 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling institutional confidence and providing upward pressure on sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent intraday strength — MPC recently closed higher in a session where broader markets fell, indicating episodic demand for the name on company-specific news. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on 2026 outlooks: the analyst fair value moved slightly to $202.50, but firms are issuing both raises and trims, creating mixed expectations for forward upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and geopolitical uncertainty (Middle East tensions, central-bank decisions) could push oil and refining margins around, producing volatility but unclear directional impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term industry note — a planned new U.S. refinery in Brownsville could alter supply dynamics over years, but it is not an immediate driver for MPC fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by director Ricky D. Hessling: two recent sales (1,810 shares at ~$224.78 on Mar 11 and 1,037 shares at ~$229.08 on Mar 12) reduced his stake materially — such disclosures often pressure sentiment even when sales are routine. SEC filing: SEC Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,456,049,000 after buying an additional 3,924,713 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,916,660,000 after acquiring an additional 47,896 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $527,197,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,818,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $458,350,000 after purchasing an additional 11,693 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.14.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.