Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,242,350 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 7,752 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Marathon Oil worth $33,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRO. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.36 and its 200 day moving average is $27.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.88%.

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.