Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Receives $185.29 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) has an average analyst rating of "Hold," with 8 buy ratings, 1 sell rating, and 8 hold ratings from 17 brokerages, indicating cautious investor sentiment.
• The company recently posted quarterly earnings of $3.96 per share, surpassing expectations, although its revenue of $34.10 billion represented an 11.1% year-over-year decline.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 54.01%.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $185.2857.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 11th. Dbs Bank upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of MPC stock traded up $2.2930 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $165.7630. The company had a trading volume of 1,527,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,360. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.26. The company has a market cap of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The company had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.