Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 1,366.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 118,701 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $3,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $64,061,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $30,104,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 323.9% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,369,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,801,000 after buying an additional 1,046,122 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

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

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

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

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial downgraded Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.