Brokerages Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Price Target at $172.93

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.21.

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.12 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $183.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.09. The firm has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

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.