Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 1,474 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Independent Advisor Alliance lessened its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

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

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.68. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.