Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $272.9375.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

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

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $6,590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $243.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.32. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $158.00 and a twelve month high of $272.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 31.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

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.