Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $35.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $195.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $186.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.76. The company has a market cap of $59.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $201.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $433,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 11.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% during the second quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,416 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $151,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.31.

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.