First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 19.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRO. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management grew its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the second 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 period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.64.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Saturday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.