Integrated Advisors Network LLC Acquires 830 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in 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 valued at $315,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,062 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,067,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,639 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,365 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $197,801,000 after buying an additional 556,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,467,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,466,000 after buying an additional 487,514 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,716 shares of company stock worth $4,397,507. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.57. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRO. 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. 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 on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.86.

Marathon Oil 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.