Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective upped by Raymond James from $190.00 to $192.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.47. The company has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 9,777 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 21,223 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,961,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.