Mizuho Lowers Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $174.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective reduced by Mizuho from $175.00 to $174.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MPC. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.1 %

MPC opened at $135.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $134.16 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is 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.