Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,566 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $140,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised 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 buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil 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 sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.62 and a 200 day moving average of $27.64.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

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.