Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 4.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 970 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $28.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.55. 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 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Nine investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.