Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,177 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $3,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRO. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 31,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 5.8% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.88.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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 prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRO shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

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.