First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 2,861 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,861 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the third 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 stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 159.6% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $26.34 on Monday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.38. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,113,336.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

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.