Morgan Stanley Boosts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $182.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.57% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $184.53.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded down $3.22 on Wednesday, hitting $172.40. 2,585,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,719,523. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $165.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.56. 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 cap of $52.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

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 transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% in the 1st quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.