Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $183.00 to $185.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 23.65% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.04 and a 200 day moving average of $152.17. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $1,327,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.3% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 18,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 2,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.