abrdn plc Purchases 104,895 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

abrdn plc boosted its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 104,895 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.05% of Marathon Oil worth $7,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $417,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 9,685 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,832,000 after acquiring an additional 32,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 238,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,380,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.