Patrick Wagner Sells 36,094 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 1.6 %

MRO opened at $28.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 2.16. 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 one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.62.

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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Barclays reduced 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after buying an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at about $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,273,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.