Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $419,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,731 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 715,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,285,000 after acquiring an additional 117,061 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in Marathon Oil by 15.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 22,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth about $6,673,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 535,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,193,000 after purchasing an additional 143,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MRO opened at $28.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.52. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.12.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.