Peirce Capital Management LLC Invests $207,000 in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Peirce Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,297 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,384 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,716 shares of company stock worth $4,397,507 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,027,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,853,618. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 2.18. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

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.