Dane E. Whitehead Sells 73,233 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.0 %

MRO opened at $27.72 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $29.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 2.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus upgraded Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 37,228 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 5.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.