Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.79.

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $127.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $140.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $201.36. The company has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.