JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Target Price to $186.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $191.00 to $186.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC opened at $174.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.24 and a 200 day moving average of $176.30. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $112.82 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.