Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) CEO Sells $7,459,100.37 in Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is presently 18.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 50.8% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,392 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 4,511 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,654 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 487.8% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 43,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 36,383 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 39.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 57,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 16,249 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.