Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Holdings Decreased by Stephens Consulting LLC

Stephens Consulting LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,805 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 9,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 271.5% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 221,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,349,000 after buying an additional 161,784 shares during the period. Ardevora Asset Management LLP boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 76,210 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.5 %

Marathon Oil stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.65. The stock had a trading volume of 7,362,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,864,303. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.36. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company also produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.