Brokerages Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Price Target at $172.93

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued 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 brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.21.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $7.23 on Friday, reaching $158.12. 3,419,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,718,593. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.10 and a 200 day moving average of $145.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by 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 stock. SWS Partners lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,624,000. Institutional investors 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.