Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 704,129 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 85,251 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.12% of Marathon Oil worth $17,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.82. 8,388,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,858,362. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22. 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 fifty day moving average price of $26.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.