Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Sells 6,221 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lessened its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,327 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,221 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 229,051 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,100,000 after acquiring an additional 12,704 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 34.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 23,105 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Marathon Oil by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,082,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,834,000 after purchasing an additional 25,518 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 18,844 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRO. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given 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 an average target price of $31.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Marathon Oil Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRO opened at $28.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.52. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

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.