Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Raised to $270.00 at Raymond James Financial

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Raymond James Financial from $210.00 to $270.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 12.27% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on MPC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.19.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $240.49. The stock had a trading volume of 858,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,622,300. The company’s 50 day moving average is $201.51 and its 200-day moving average is $191.04. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $247.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Marathon Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James bullish — Raymond James sees MPC reaching $270, citing the company’s strong operating execution, capital-return profile and the stock’s recent outperformance, supporting higher analyst targets and more buying interest. Why Raymond James Sees Marathon Petroleum Reaching $270
• Positive Sentiment: Refining-margin and cash-return narrative — Analysts/information providers highlight wider gasoline and diesel cracks, MPC’s 2025 refining utilization (~94%) and margin capture (~105%), and ~$4.5B of capital returned in 2025 as drivers for rerating refiners and potential earnings upside. Marathon Petroleum jumps as refining-margin backdrop improves and investors refocus on cash-return story
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical risk lifting oil sentiment — Escalation in the U.S.-Israel-Iran region has pushed crude and product futures higher, a tailwind for refiners’ crack spreads and short-term sentiment that helped push MPC to fresh highs. Why Marathon Petroleum Stock Is Breaking Out To Fresh All-Time Highs Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Annual meeting / governance amendment set — MPC announced its 2026 shareholder meeting and a proposed amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation; details could affect shareholder rights or procedures but impact is unclear until proposals are finalized. Marathon Petroleum Meeting Puts Governance Changes And Shareholder Influence In Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results date set — MPC will report first-quarter results on May 5, 2026; investors will watch crack spreads, utilization and cash-return guidance for confirmation of the rally. Marathon Petroleum Corp. to Report First-Quarter Financial Results on May 5, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst/retail coverage — Several bullish retail summaries and analyst notes are circulating; street median targets remain below some of the newest bullish calls, so upside expectations are heterogeneous. Why Raymond James Sees Marathon Petroleum Reaching $270
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional selling noted — Recent reports show insider sales and large institutional position reductions at some firms (while others added), which could present a near-term headwind or profit-taking risk if refining margins reverse. Marathon Petroleum jumps as refining-margin backdrop improves and investors refocus on cash-return story

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.