Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.21.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $582,710,000 after buying an additional 4,151,722 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $453,427,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after acquiring an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $147.25 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $148.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.