BMO Capital Markets Boosts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $290.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective upped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.45% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MPC. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $285.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $251.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 272,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,430. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.34. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $154.65 and a 1 year high of $261.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 28.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.