Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,179,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,370 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $321,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,613 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.14.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $26.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.53 and a 200-day moving average of $25.27.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

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.