S.A. Mason LLC Sells 1,699 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

S.A. Mason LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,699 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 124,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC now owns 546,957 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,214,000 after acquiring an additional 7,055 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,369,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,251,000 after purchasing an additional 280,971 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 27,668 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $302,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 245,238 shares of company stock valued at $6,646,904 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 2.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.09. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $29.56.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.62.

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.