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

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.27.

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $150.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.76. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.