Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 838 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,472 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 838 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRO. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.69. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 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 (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

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.