Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $175.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.21.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MPC opened at $123.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $210.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.71. The company has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SWS Partners lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in 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 worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.