State of Michigan Retirement System Has $5.41 Million Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,805 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $5,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 8.4% in the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 96,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. McAdam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,857 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 47,905 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 2.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. Susquehanna increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Capital One Financial cut Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.40.

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.