Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $6.13 Million Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $6,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRO. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 6,066 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 49,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 12,413 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 304,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after buying an additional 175,964 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,852 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 59,882 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after buying an additional 11,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Capital One Financial cut shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $27.93 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.