Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,803 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $748,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,754 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $315,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,062 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $173,493,000 after buying an additional 550,473 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,527,000 after buying an additional 150,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,369,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,251,000 after buying an additional 280,971 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $27.82 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22. 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 Co. has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. 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 quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.