Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $188.00 at Mizuho

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price hoisted by Mizuho from $184.00 to $188.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank raised Marathon Petroleum to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.64.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC opened at $180.14 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $186.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The company had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 129,619 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,354 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 399,342 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $66,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,380 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $238,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.