Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $185.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $183.00 to $185.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

MPC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $149.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.03. The company has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $483,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 108,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,074,000 after acquiring an additional 21,947 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 32,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 17,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 5,783 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.