Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $335.00 to $344.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,MarketScreener reports.

MPC has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.9%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $263.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $158.00 and a 1 year high of $272.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $244.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 31.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $472,312,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 49,392.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,498,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,097 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3,816.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $212,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,386 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,939.8% during the 1st quarter. GHE LLC now owns 649,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $158,605,000 after purchasing an additional 617,699 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2,175.0% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 568,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $92,502,000 after purchasing an additional 543,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Marathon Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: Marathon Petroleum was added to the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices after earning a top-quartile ESG score in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which can support demand from sustainability-focused investors. Marathon Petroleum Named to Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on MPC to $344 from $335, signaling continued analyst confidence and implying meaningful upside from current levels. Wells Fargo adjusts Marathon Petroleum price target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added MPC to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth stocks list, reinforcing the view that the company remains attractive for growth and momentum investors. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for June 12th
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks note highlighted MPC as a strong momentum stock, which may be helping traders bid the shares higher in the near term. What Makes Marathon Petroleum (MPC) a Strong Momentum Stock: Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary across several articles argued that MPC screens as a potentially attractive buy based on valuation and refining fundamentals, but these pieces were opinion-driven rather than new company-specific announcements. Is Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) A Good Stock To Buy Now?

About Marathon Petroleum

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.