Mather Group LLC. Cuts Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Mather Group LLC. lessened its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 521 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,067,000 after buying an additional 1,415,639 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 374.5% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 58,081 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 304,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after buying an additional 175,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $27.83 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.29 and a 200-day moving average of $25.60.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.86.

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.