Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 788,714 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 58,735 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Marathon Oil worth $22,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 44,456 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 2.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 249,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,088,000 after purchasing an additional 11,259 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 270,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.71. The stock had a trading volume of 654,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,099,555. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 2.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.46.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, July 26th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Marathon Oil Company 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.