Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 652 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 138,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $3,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $29.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.31. The company has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.61.

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.