Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $290.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $255.00 to $290.00 in a report published on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

MPC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $255.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $234.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.45. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $154.65 and a 12-month high of $261.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 28.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.