Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives $185.27 Average Price Target from Analysts

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $184.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $137.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $136.43 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.40.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,226,000. American Trust raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 18.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 32,640 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,317,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 121.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 9,551 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. 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.