Barclays Raises Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $159.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $141.00 to $159.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.3%

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $163.98. 727,766 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,710,678. The firm's 50 day moving average is $138.59 and its 200-day moving average is $145.34. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors 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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 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

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,621 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,084,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,684 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 62,385 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,703,000 after acquiring an additional 25,171 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.