Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 790,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,535 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.14% of Marathon Oil worth $22,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $26.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Capital One Financial cut Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.74.

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.