Morgan Stanley Trims Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Target Price to $182.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $182.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

MPC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a strong-buy rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $199.46.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $161.01 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $139.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.