Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $220.00 to $231.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.57.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded up $5.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,714,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $60.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $189.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.02. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $202.30.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $34.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.81%.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Associated Banc Corp increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% in the second quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% during the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.