Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 373,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Marathon Oil worth $9,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,246,000 after purchasing an additional 221,388 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $125,527,000 after purchasing an additional 150,440 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,209,000. Finally, Ardevora Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 76,210 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.82 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

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.