Strs Ohio Buys Shares of 53,508 Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 53,508 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,246,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,527,000 after acquiring an additional 150,440 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $3,209,000. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 222.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 67,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 46,796 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRO opened at $27.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 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 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.