Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 280,325 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 47.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 280,325 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $7,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $748,683,000 after buying an additional 9,504,754 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $315,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,062 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 787.1% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,475,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308,965 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 284.3% during the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 974,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,059,000 after purchasing an additional 720,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 43.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,518,654 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,624,000 after purchasing an additional 457,138 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.05 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.14 and a 200-day moving average of $25.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.61.

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.