StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MPC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $153.00 to $143.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $133.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $138.63.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $123.66 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.23. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $76.06 and a 52 week high of $136.46. The company has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.33, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $6.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.54 by $1.11. The firm had revenue of $39.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.29 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 41.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 19.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 10.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $780,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $282,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 18,559 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,800,000 after purchasing an additional 18,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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Marathon Petroleum Corp. is an independent company, which engages in the refining, marketing, and transportation of petroleum products in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Refining and Marketing, and Midstream. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the United States, purchases ethanol and refined products for resale and distributes refined products through various means, including barges, terminals, and trucks that the company owns or operates.