Marathon Petroleum Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MPC)

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 9,616 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 113% compared to the average daily volume of 4,507 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $133.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $42.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.