Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,007 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 90.6% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRO shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.76, for a total transaction of $1,288,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 221,504 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,943.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Rob L. White sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.24, for a total transaction of $209,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $839,916.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.76, for a total transaction of $1,288,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 221,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,943.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $26.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $20.57 and a 52-week high of $33.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.31.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 28.52%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

Marathon Oil 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.