Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

MPC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $220.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.79.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.0%

MPC opened at $164.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.20. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $202.29.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.06 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 42.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Concord Asset Management LLC VA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $412,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 128.0% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,663 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 459.5% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 189,973 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,556,000 after acquiring an additional 156,019 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $685,000. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 168,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.