Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Insider Patrick Wagner Sells 36,094 Shares

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction 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 accessible through this hyperlink.

Patrick Wagner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 19th, Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Marathon Oil stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.34. 11,669,070 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,954,638. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 2.21. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $29.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.68.

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.