Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $203.00 at UBS Group

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $175.00 to $203.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded down $2.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,388,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,719,877. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.19. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.88.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 1.75%. The company had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.20%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $582,710,000 after buying an additional 4,151,722 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $453,427,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the first 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.