QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 23,105 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 34.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 23,105 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management raised its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marathon Oil by 1.6% in the third quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 31,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Marathon Oil Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of MRO opened at $28.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.51.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

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.