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

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.29.

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,787 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.0%

MPC stock opened at $161.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $143.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.20%.

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.