Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 82.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 150,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,075 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $4,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 226.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRO shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Nine investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.6 %

MRO opened at $26.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.47. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio 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.