Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Lowered to $179.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPCFree Report) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $211.00 to $179.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MPC. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued 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 $196.79.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MPC

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.1%

MPC traded down $3.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,003,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,306. The company has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $202.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.56.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 42.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 24,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 184,085 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,938,000 after buying an additional 3,620 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Marathon Petroleum News

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

About Marathon Petroleum

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

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