Brokerages Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Target Price at $184.00

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $184.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $142.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.35.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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.