Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $425.12 According to Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $424.06.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $321.00 to $488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $453.00 to $458.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $510.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $376.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

Investors following MPC have been watching these headlines:

• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison of companies with large share buybacks raised questions about whether repurchases are creating value or relying on debt; it offers context rather than a new company-specific catalyst. These 3 Stocks Have Bought Back Billions, But Which Offers the Best Value?
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target to $440 from $457 and maintained a neutral rating. The new target still implies roughly 6.4% upside from the cited share price, but the reduction signals more restrained expectations. Mizuho stock recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Reported open-market activity showed MPC insiders made no purchases and sold shares in the past six months, a possible cautionary signal, though insider sales alone do not establish a change in business outlook.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,757.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,191 shares of company stock valued at $6,905,127. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.4% in the third quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Medallion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2,739.3% in the third quarter. Medallion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 795 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 142,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,237,000 after purchasing an additional 16,193 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $389,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 252,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $99,924,000 after purchasing an additional 32,989 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $413.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $423.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.03. The company has a market cap of $112.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.53. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $161.93 and a twelve month high of $493.98.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $26.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $25.37 by $1.56. The company had revenue of $56.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.60 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 55.82% and a net margin of 8.27%. The business’s revenue was up 57.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 66.31 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 13.75%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an integrated downstream energy company focused on refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its refineries produce fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and petrochemical feedstocks. The company sells transportation fuels and related products through a network of branded locations and other wholesale and commercial channels, primarily in the United States. Its midstream operations, conducted largely through its affiliated partnership MPLX, include gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas and natural gas liquids, as well as storing and transporting crude oil and refined products.