Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $209.1875.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on 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 lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $245.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.87. The stock has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.69. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $255.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. First Interstate Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,050,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,946,000 after purchasing an additional 11,082 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 849,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,688,000 after purchasing an additional 14,308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.