Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.29.

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded up $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,532,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,217. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $143.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.25. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,941,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,090,611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834,501 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,722,664,000 after buying an additional 1,862,674 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 6,037,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $879,608,000 after purchasing an additional 355,215 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $791,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,982,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $725,878,000 after purchasing an additional 178,397 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.