Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Makes New Investment in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,929 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 32.2% in the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 31,996 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 7,797 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,837 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 21,059 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 171.8% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 48,928 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 30,926 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 17.0% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MRO. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

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 shares were 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 owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

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.