JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Target Price to $186.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $191.00 to $186.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com cut Marathon Petroleum from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $174.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.13. The firm has a market cap of $61.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $112.82 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 47.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 37,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,685,000 after acquiring an additional 12,163 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 117,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. KGH Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,647,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 71.9% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after buying an additional 8,303 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.