Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $417.88

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $417.88.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $376.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $433.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $350.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $474.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $138.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $400.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.01. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $161.93 and a twelve month high of $493.98.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. The company had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 62.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total value 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 approximately $571,757.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $375.75, for a total value of $375,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,206,145.50. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $6,648,958,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,029,611,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,595,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $633,668,000 after purchasing an additional 40,124 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,237,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $572,172,000 after purchasing an additional 332,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,508,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $385,675,000 after purchasing an additional 215,686 shares during 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 an American downstream energy company engaged in refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its operations include converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane, and other refined products used by transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.

The company markets fuel under the Marathon brand and supplies products to independent marketers, commercial businesses, and other wholesale customers. Marathon Petroleum also owns a general-partner interest and significant limited-partner interest in MPLX Inc, a midstream company that operates pipelines, storage facilities, terminals, and gathering and processing assets supporting the movement of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Marathon Petroleum’s refining and midstream activities are concentrated in the United States, with assets serving regions across the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.