CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,113 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $242,582,000 after purchasing an additional 328,184 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $184,741,000 after purchasing an additional 593,100 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,786,956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $79,902,000 after purchasing an additional 27,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $64,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.75 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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 trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,599 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,300 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

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.