The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Marathon Petroleum from $291 to $376 and kept a buy rating, implying about 17.84% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts were also mostly positive, with TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Raymond James all lifting their targets, while the overall consensus remains Moderate Buy with a $291.50 average price target.
• Marathon Petroleum recently posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.65 EPS versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $34.20 billion, even as the stock traded slightly lower on the day.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $291.00 to $376.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.84% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $315.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.50.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2%

MPC traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.06. 1,050,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,446,255. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $326.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $264.98 and a 200 day moving average of $229.97.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 35.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPC. State Street Corp raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,916,660,000 after purchasing an additional 47,896 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $472,312,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,818,361 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $458,350,000 after acquiring an additional 11,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,600,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $422,869,000 after purchasing an additional 67,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum's operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.

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