Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lowered its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,619 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 597 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $25.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.53.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.