Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $182.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 20.49 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.