Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $539,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,801 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $468,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $64,061,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,104,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 323.9% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,369,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,801,000 after buying an additional 1,046,122 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRO. Capital One Financial downgraded Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.65.

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.