Molly Benson Sells 17,196 Shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,876,862.38. This trade represents a 36.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $362.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $161.93 and a twelve month high of $367.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $303.95 and its 200-day moving average is $258.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The company 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%.Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MPC. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Grp LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.