Barclays Cuts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $141.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $161.00 to $141.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.79.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $3.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $127.55. 2,387,680 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,697,115. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.59. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $201.36. The stock has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.