Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $224.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as high as $237.86 and last traded at $235.7730, with a volume of 147856 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $233.26.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

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.