Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $290.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $255.00 to $290.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target points to a potential upside of 15.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MPC traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $251.20. The stock had a trading volume of 272,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,430. The stock has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $154.65 and a 1 year high of $261.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $232.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.34.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 28.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,054.50. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $212,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,386 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its position 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 period. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in shares of 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.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.