Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Lowered to $182.00 at Citigroup

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $185.00 to $182.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.79.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $180.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.74. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $202.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.49 and a 200-day moving average of $180.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%.The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,470 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 21.8% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.