Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.73.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third 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 buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $142.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

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.