Citigroup Raises Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $243.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $210.00 to $243.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.88.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MPC opened at $222.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.09. The company has a market capitalization of $65.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $117.74 and a 52-week high of $255.77.

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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,054.50. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,157,000 after buying an additional 1,495,097 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $212,517,000 after buying an additional 1,273,386 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27,979.8% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 659,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $109,565,000 after buying an additional 657,246 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2,175.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 568,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $92,502,000 after buying an additional 543,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $264 and maintained a Buy — the largest, most bullish lift this week and a clear catalyst for upside re-rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays moved its target to $230 and kept an Overweight — another institutional vote that supports further multiple expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded MPC from Hold to Strong-Buy, adding short-term positive sentiment from retail-focused research. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage piece notes upgraded earnings views, stronger refiner margins with higher oil, and an active buyback program — a fundamental case supporting a higher forward valuation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised its target to $243 but kept a Neutral rating — signals upside but tempered conviction. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan and Piper Sandler both lifted targets (to $235 and $228 respectively) while keeping Neutral ratings — modestly constructive but not strong buy-side conviction. JPMorgan Article Piper Article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the bullish analyst activity, MPC experienced a sharp intraday drop on April 8 (roughly a 5.5% decline) — a reminder of near-term volatility and possible profit-taking after the recent run-up. Article Title

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.