Ricky Hessling Sells 1,810 Shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) insider Ricky Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MPC opened at $226.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.69. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $236.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.25.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 29.96%.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blowout Q4 results and big shareholder returns: MPC reported $4.07 adjusted EPS for Q4, topped revenue expectations, and returned substantial cash to shareholders—this underpins near-term earnings and buyback/dividend prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $239 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling institutional confidence and providing upward pressure on sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent intraday strength — MPC recently closed higher in a session where broader markets fell, indicating episodic demand for the name on company-specific news. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on 2026 outlooks: the analyst fair value moved slightly to $202.50, but firms are issuing both raises and trims, creating mixed expectations for forward upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and geopolitical uncertainty (Middle East tensions, central-bank decisions) could push oil and refining margins around, producing volatility but unclear directional impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term industry note — a planned new U.S. refinery in Brownsville could alter supply dynamics over years, but it is not an immediate driver for MPC fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by director Ricky D. Hessling: two recent sales (1,810 shares at ~$224.78 on Mar 11 and 1,037 shares at ~$229.08 on Mar 12) reduced his stake materially — such disclosures often pressure sentiment even when sales are routine. SEC filing: SEC Filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,456,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,713 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,916,660,000 after purchasing an additional 47,896 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,013,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,325,598,000 after buying an additional 1,033,645 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,214,522,000 after buying an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $527,197,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Citigroup lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.25.

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.