Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,082,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,518 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $28,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management increased its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the second 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, Hilltop National Bank raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,620 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

About Marathon Oil

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.