Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 5,479 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,340 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $748,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,754 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 22.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $315,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,062 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 787.1% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,475,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308,965 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 284.3% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 974,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,059,000 after purchasing an additional 720,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $173,493,000 after purchasing an additional 550,473 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.44.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays started 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.66.

About Marathon Oil

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.