Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $17.69 Million Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 664,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,503 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Marathon Oil worth $17,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 94.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,882,000 after acquiring an additional 278,463 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $334,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 79,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 36,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research report on Thursday, September 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.89. The stock 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil 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.