Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives $185.27 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.00.

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $137.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.96 and its 200 day moving average is $164.40. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $136.43 and a 52 week high of $221.11. 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 company has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $743,690,000 after buying an additional 107,915 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.