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

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target raised by Barclays from $159.00 to $161.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $141.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.17. The stock has a market cap of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.