ClearAlpha Technologies LP Purchases 132,919 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 337,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 132,919 shares during the period. Marathon Oil comprises about 2.5% of ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $8,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth approximately $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth approximately $33,273,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.71. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.