Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,578 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,814 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $7,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 226.0% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, 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 transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.65. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Marathon Oil’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

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.