Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock Position Increased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 127.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,415,639 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Marathon Oil worth $61,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 149.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 373,921 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 223,877 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 580,242 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $15,521,000 after buying an additional 35,998 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 36,395 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $173,493,000 after acquiring an additional 550,473 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value 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 over the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.34. 9,055,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,206,166. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Marathon Oil 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.