Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 7,971 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 128,982 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 7,971 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $3,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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. bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction 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 $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.14 and a 200-day moving average of $25.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS 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 net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRO shares. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James dropped their price target on 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.