Raymond James Raises Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $192.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $190.00 to $192.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “strong-buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,965,000 after acquiring an additional 72,192 shares during the period. 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.