Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) traded down 3.5% during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $190.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as low as $170.28 and last traded at $171.61. 512,921 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,684,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.86.
A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.77.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.
Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.9 %
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.55.
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.
Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
About Marathon Petroleum
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.