Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,006 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRO. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.53 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.42.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRO. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Oil

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.