Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 9,296 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,657 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,296 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $748,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,754 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $315,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,062 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 787.1% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,475,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308,965 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 284.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 974,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,059,000 after buying an additional 720,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $173,493,000 after buying an additional 550,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock opened at $27.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 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 current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.66.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.