The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $204.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $206.00 to $204.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.31% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MPC. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.67.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $175.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,634,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,898. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.70. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $202.29. The company has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%.The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.0% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 6,274 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 9.5% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.