Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 127.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,415,639 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $61,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the third 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 period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the third quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 159.6% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $26.34 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.03 and a 200 day moving average of $25.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 21.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

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.