The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $376.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $291.00 to $376.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $344.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.50.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,050,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,446,255. The stock has a market cap of $93.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $158.00 and a 12 month high of $326.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 35.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

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

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

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

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.