Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) by 69.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 231,689 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 516,147 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $5,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TradeLink Capital LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the first quarter valued at about $781,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the first quarter valued at about $209,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 6.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 160,065 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 10,388 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 7.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 187,679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after acquiring an additional 12,859 shares during the period. 77.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $22.95 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $19.42 and a 12-month high of $33.42. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.38.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 44.95% and a return on equity of 27.07%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 14th. This is an increase from Marathon Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 7.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRO. Benchmark upgraded Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Marathon Oil Profile

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Marathon Oil Corp. engages in the exploration, production, and marketing of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas. It operates through the following two segments: United States (U. S.) and International. The U. S. segment engages in oil and gas exploration, development and production activities in the U.S.