Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 373,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $9,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MRO opened at $27.82 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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