Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Bought by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 41.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,729 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Client Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth $616,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 86,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 161.6% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 33,351 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 20,604 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRO opened at $27.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.76.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.