Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 76,859 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after buying an additional 1,552,210 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,582,000 after buying an additional 328,184 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,741,000 after acquiring an additional 593,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,786,956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,902,000 after acquiring an additional 27,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE MRO opened at $27.27 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.50. The stock has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 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 the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

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.