Sierra Ocean LLC Takes $31,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.67.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.