Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Makes New $283,000 Investment in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,899,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 92,512 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,990 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter worth $1,012,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,199,953 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,099,000 after buying an additional 150,724 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 8,792 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $26.98 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.36.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.61.

Marathon Oil 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.