Harvest Management LLC Trims Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Harvest Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 45.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 86,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 72,700 shares during the period. Marathon Oil makes up approximately 1.2% of Harvest Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Harvest Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 472,110 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,570,000 after acquiring an additional 21,339 shares during the last quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP grew its position in Marathon Oil by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 337,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $8,989,000 after acquiring an additional 132,919 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,018,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,215,839 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,008,000 after purchasing an additional 45,758 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 786,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $20,956,000 after purchasing an additional 98,483 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MRO. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.73. 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 market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’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 owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This 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 worth $10,964,251 in the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.