Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $224.00

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

MPC has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $221.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $235.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $242.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $197.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $39,000. 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.