Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Lowers Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 445,040 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 36,124 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.08% of Marathon Oil worth $12,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.15.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.68.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.