Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.19.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $245.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $255.77.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 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.