Insider Selling: Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) CFO Sells 73,233 Shares of Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.72 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.09. 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 market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 2.21. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $29.56.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $454,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,837,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,866,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MRO shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.62.

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.