Financial Advisors Network Inc. Buys New Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Financial Advisors Network Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 13,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $1,440,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 127.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,639 shares during the period. 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 valued at $125,527,000 after purchasing an additional 150,440 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $3,209,000. Finally, Ardevora Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after purchasing an additional 76,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. 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 ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.75. 1,385,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,284,964. The company has a market capitalization of $14.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.28.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.