Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 813,119 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 198,475 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Marathon Oil worth $19,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 32,717 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 238,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,380,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 149.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 373,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,002,000 after buying an additional 223,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $32.66.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

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.