Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $129.77 and last traded at $130.31, with a volume of 2106355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $193.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.