Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.5625.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,157,000 after buying an additional 1,495,097 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $212,517,000 after buying an additional 1,273,386 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,939.8% during the first quarter. GHE LLC now owns 649,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $158,605,000 after buying an additional 617,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2,175.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 568,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $92,502,000 after acquiring an additional 543,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $299.39 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.73. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $304.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 34.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.