Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $182.13.

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after acquiring an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,977 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $613,624,000 after acquiring an additional 452,043 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $582,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,937,348 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $549,260,000 after purchasing an additional 484,438 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.6 %

MPC opened at $151.93 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $148.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.51. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.