The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $472.00

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs raised Marathon Petroleum’s price target to $472 from $376 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying approximately 11.4% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $355.12; recent target increases included Raymond James to $445 and Barclays to $321.
• Marathon Petroleum reported quarterly earnings of $17.73 per share, exceeding estimates of $14.27, while revenue rose 53.5% year over year to $51.99 billion. Insiders sold 21,691 shares worth about $7.8 million during the last quarter.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $376.00 to $472.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.42% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $350.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.12.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MPC opened at $423.62 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $161.93 and a 52 week high of $428.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $349.28 and its 200-day moving average is $281.46. The firm has a market cap of $123.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 59.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total transaction of $375,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,206,145.50. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $502,000. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,789 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 928,506 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $237,391,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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 and other transportation fuels, as well as asphalt, propane, petrochemical feedstocks and related products.

Marathon Petroleum operates a network of refineries in the United States and markets refined products through wholesale channels, branded retail locations and commercial customers.

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