Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $213.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $214.00 to $213.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $193.78. 2,174,108 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,870,895. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.88. The company has a market cap of $58.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.32. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $201.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 128.0% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,663 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 105.0% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 8,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 4,396 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $685,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,102 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 137 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.