Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $192.00 at Raymond James

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective hoisted by Raymond James from $190.00 to $192.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.21. The stock has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.