Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management LLC

Westchester Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512,848 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 402,088 shares during the quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Marathon Oil worth $13,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,274,000 after buying an additional 19,566 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,805,000 after acquiring an additional 171,450 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,369 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in Marathon Oil by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 22,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,673,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company 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 $27.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.69.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Marathon Oil 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.