Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.20.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5 %

MPC opened at $151.45 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.34.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.