Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by AlphaCentric Advisors LLC

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 477 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $240,000. Blue Rock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 12.8% during the second quarter. Blue Rock Advisors LLC now owns 91,870 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 10,421 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 6.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Gyroscope Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $376,000. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,832 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 14,125 shares during the last quarter. 76.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.09.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total value of $1,381,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 171,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,738,655.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 34,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total value of $899,485.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 167,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,754.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $1,381,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 171,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,738,655.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 446,226 shares of company stock worth $12,067,164 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $25.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.57 and a fifty-two week high of $33.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.09.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company’s revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Marathon Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 14.81%.

Marathon Oil declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 1st that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas producer to purchase up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

Marathon Oil Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States and internationally. The company engages in the exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas; and the production and marketing of products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.