Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Jumps 3.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) rose 3.7% on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $304.00 to $457.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $458.45 and last traded at $458.5040. 292,951 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,487,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.26.

MPC has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $410.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $265.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.94.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total value of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $134.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $374.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.14.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. The company had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 61.31 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) is an integrated downstream energy company engaged primarily in refining, marketing and transporting petroleum products. The company converts crude oil and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane and other refined products used by consumers, businesses and industrial customers.

Marathon Petroleum operates refineries and related logistics assets in the United States, with a refining and marketing presence serving markets across the Midwest, Gulf Coast and West Coast.