Brokerages Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Price Target at $181.27

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.27.

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $150.07 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.76. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

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

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.