Larson Financial Group LLC Purchases 483 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the 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 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.67.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

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.