Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives $184.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $184.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, American Trust boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $142.36 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.