Brokerages Set Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) PT at $198.88

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.1875.

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $203.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.74. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $210.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 2.99%.Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.