Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target increased by Mizuho from $205.00 to $224.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MPC. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of MPC opened at $233.18 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $236.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.05. The company has a market capitalization of $68.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,456,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924,713 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $527,197,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $245,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,097 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $212,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,386 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,163,737 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,024,395,000 after purchasing an additional 715,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.