Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Rating Increased to Hold at Tudor Pickering

Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MPC. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $157.22 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.78. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.