Traders Purchase High Volume of Marathon Petroleum Put Options (NYSE:MPC)

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 9,616 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 113% compared to the average volume of 4,507 put options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during 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 during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded up $1.73 on Friday, hitting $133.38. 11,476,858 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,030. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $152.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.