Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Up 3.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum shares rose 3.7% after Mizuho raised its price target from $304 to $457, while maintaining a neutral rating. The stock reached approximately $458.50, above the analyst consensus target of $379.94.
• Analysts overall rate MPC a “Moderate Buy,” with one Strong Buy, 11 Buy, and five Hold ratings. The company also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $17.73 in EPS versus the $14.27 consensus and revenue of $51.99 billion.
• Institutional investors own 76.77% of the stock, while insiders sold 21,691 shares worth about $7.8 million in the latest quarter. Marathon Petroleum pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00, equivalent to a $4.00 annualized payout and a 0.9% yield.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $304.00 to $457.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $458.45 and last traded at $458.5040. 292,951 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,487,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.26.

MPC has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $265.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.94.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,595,084 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $633,668,000 after acquiring an additional 40,124 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,237,930 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $572,172,000 after acquiring an additional 332,551 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 16.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,508,489 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $385,675,000 after acquiring an additional 215,686 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $134.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $374.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 61.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is an integrated downstream energy company engaged primarily in refining, marketing and transporting petroleum products. The company converts crude oil and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane and other refined products used by consumers, businesses and industrial customers.

Marathon Petroleum operates refineries and related logistics assets in the United States, with a refining and marketing presence serving markets across the Midwest, Gulf Coast and West Coast.

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