New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $19.65 Million Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 813,119 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 198,475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.14% of Marathon Oil worth $19,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 704,129 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $17,012,000 after buying an additional 85,251 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 9,105 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 271.5% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 221,383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,349,000 after buying an additional 161,784 shares during the period. Ardevora Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 20.4% in 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 buying an additional 76,210 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRO. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price target on 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. Barclays assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRO traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $27.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,872,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,672,421. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.43. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Marathon Oil'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 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

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.