Duality Advisers LP Grows Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 271.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 221,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 161,784 shares during the quarter. Marathon Oil comprises approximately 0.6% of Duality Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $5,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Ardevora Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 76,210 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 293,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,099,000 after acquiring an additional 104,895 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth $577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $27.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,842,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,374,428. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.36. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

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.