Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Purchased by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 228.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 96,872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 67,391 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 24.2% during the third 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 last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth about $417,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth about $131,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MRO opened at $27.53 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.42.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRO. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday. 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.

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.