Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

MPC has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5%

MPC stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $157.45. 554,405 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,638. The stock's fifty day moving average is $141.06 and its 200-day moving average is $145.89. The company has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 201 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is 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.

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