Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $183.00 to $185.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.5 %

MPC opened at $149.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.04 and a 200-day moving average of $152.32. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.