Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) PT Lowered to $200.00 at Mizuho

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective cut by Mizuho from $202.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $182.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.30. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aspire Private Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% in the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 579,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,753,000 after buying an additional 48,540 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.