Analysts Set Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) PT at $193.77

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.77.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 9.3 %

Shares of MPC traded down $18.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.92. 5,780,215 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,784,731. The business's 50-day moving average price is $193.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.68. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,685,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $109,099,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 127.0% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,232,706 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $186,536,000 after buying an additional 689,576 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $131,235,000 after acquiring an additional 636,281 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $95,483,000 after acquiring an additional 486,573 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.