Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $183.00 to $185.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.77% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $151.93 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

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