Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $335.00 to $344.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 29.43% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MPC. Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $4.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $265.78. 155,332 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,460,155. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $244.07 and its 200-day moving average is $212.05. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $272.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 30.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Wellington Grp LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings 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 worth $333,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.