Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 19,566 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.94% of Marathon Oil worth $140,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $33,273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251 over the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Saturday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO remained flat at $28.55 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $27.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.64. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil's payout ratio is 18.88%.

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.