Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $214.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.11% from its previous close.
• Marathon Petroleum recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.96 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations and generating revenues of $34.10 billion, which was above estimates of $31.70 billion.
• Institutional investors hold a substantial stake in Marathon Petroleum, with 76.77% of the company's stock owned by various investment firms, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.

Investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price target on the oil and gas company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.11% from the stock's previous close.

MPC has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Dbs Bank raised Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $181.19 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $201.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $180.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.50.

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,456,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924,713 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,862,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,013,213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,325,598,000 after buying an additional 1,033,645 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,163,737 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,024,395,000 after purchasing an additional 715,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the first 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 buying an additional 355,215 shares during the period. 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.

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