Signaturefd LLC Buys 660 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $748,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,754 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $315,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,062 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $173,493,000 after purchasing an additional 550,473 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $125,527,000 after acquiring an additional 150,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,369,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,251,000 after acquiring an additional 280,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRO. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.53 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.55 and its 200-day moving average is $25.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

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.