Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,232 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,426 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the first 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. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.58 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.65.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

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.