Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,273,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents 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 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MRO shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Nine investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.68. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

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.