Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,885 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,341,531 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,213,856,000 after acquiring an additional 392,821 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $748,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,754 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $315,584,000 after buying an additional 2,176,062 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $219,828,000 after buying an additional 8,091,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,739,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $194,346,000 after buying an additional 2,904,140 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRO traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.50. 7,837,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,897,403. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The business 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 business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.73 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.76.

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.