Catalina Capital Group LLC Buys 495 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 11.0% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 41,726 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,138 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 126,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,580,000 after purchasing an additional 24,547 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 8.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 19,552 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,708 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $28.79 on Thursday. 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 moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average of $27.51. The company has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 value of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.12.

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.