Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 95.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 109,413 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,125,022 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.53. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

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 that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRO shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Nine investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Company 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.