Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $855,000 Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.2% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter worth about $417,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 102.6% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 9,685 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 44.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,832,000 after acquiring an additional 32,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 238,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,380,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. 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. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $27.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.72 and its 200-day moving average is $25.44. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.