Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. Raises Stake in Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO)

Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,477 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 8,036 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A.’s holdings in Marathon Oil Corporation were worth $847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Corporation by 4,827.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 107,176,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,693,396,000 after buying an additional 105,001,815 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Marathon Oil Corporation by 4.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,652,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,689,000 after buying an additional 164,096 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Marathon Oil Corporation by 29.9% in the first quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 114,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after buying an additional 26,295 shares during the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Marathon Oil Corporation by 5.0% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,574,639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,480,000 after buying an additional 171,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Marathon Oil Corporation by 0.3% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 733,564 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $8,693,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.22% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) opened at 11.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s market capitalization is $9.88 billion. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.19. Marathon Oil Corporation has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $19.28.

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.10. Marathon Oil Corporation had a negative return on equity of 2.86% and a negative net margin of 140.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Oil Corporation will post ($0.46) earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Marathon Oil Corporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.55%.

Several research firms have recently commented on MRO. Barclays PLC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Marathon Oil Corporation in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America Corporation lowered Marathon Oil Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Marathon Oil Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. FBR & Co reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil Corporation in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank set a $23.00 price target on Marathon Oil Corporation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

Marathon Oil Corporation Company Profile

Marathon Oil Corporation is an exploration and production (E&P) company. The Company operates through three segments: North America E&P, International E&P and Oil Sands Mining. The North America E&P segment explores for, produces and markets crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas in North America.