Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 25,971 Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRO. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.73.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % 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 dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MRO shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased 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 note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

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.