Wells Fargo & Company Increases Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $205.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $182.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.01% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $179.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.90. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.88.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% during the first quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.