Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MPC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (up from $199.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:MPC opened at $184.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.88. The company has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $201.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $16,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,785 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. 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.