Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) fell 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $209.05 and last traded at $210.17. 489,107 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,872,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Mizuho raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.69.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $184.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.65 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $458,859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,939,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $190,449,000 after buying an additional 2,217,443 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,099,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $186,536,000 after acquiring an additional 689,576 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently 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.