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

Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $15,649,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,399 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a PEG 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.67. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum 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.