Insider Selling: Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) VP Sells $1,033,980.00 in Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction 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 $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock opened at $25.98 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.79 and its 200-day moving average is $27.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRO. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 6,193 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 11,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 6,066 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,338,827 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,346,000 after purchasing an additional 407,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Capital One Financial downgraded Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.87.

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.