Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $322.4375.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. TD Cowen raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.2%

MPC stock opened at $387.66 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $161.93 and a 52 week high of $398.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 46.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total value of $375,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,206,145.50. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.