Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Acquired by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 704,129 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 85,251 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $17,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRO. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 9,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 271.5% during the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 221,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,349,000 after purchasing an additional 161,784 shares during the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 76,210 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, reaching $27.46. 842,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,748,583. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.33 and a 200 day moving average of $25.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06. 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) 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. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MRO. Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.