Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $174.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price cut by Mizuho from $175.00 to $174.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

MPC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $138.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $137.89 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $154.40 and a 200-day moving average of $164.67. The company has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,965,000 after acquiring an additional 72,192 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.