Dane E. Whitehead Sells 52,008 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.93 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.67 and its 200-day moving average is $27.58. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRO. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $468,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $383,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,582,000 after purchasing an additional 328,184 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $184,741,000 after purchasing an additional 593,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.