Xponance Inc. Purchases 85,725 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 59.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,892 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,725 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $5,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.23 and its 200-day moving average is $25.35. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.76.

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.