Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Cut to $182.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $186.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.67% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $142.55. The stock had a trading volume of 3,593,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,037,525. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.86 and a 200 day moving average of $160.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.