Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $183.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $182.00 to $183.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.4 %

MPC traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.47. 262,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,813,610. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. American Trust grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.