NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Decreases Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,490 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 526 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 64.0% in the first quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 17,396 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 6,789 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $1,341,000. Accel Wealth Management bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 164,996 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,676,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $26.46 on Monday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.42 and a 200 day moving average of $27.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRO. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Company 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.