Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Bought by Menard Financial Group LLC

Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 12.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,545 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRO. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.74.

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 business 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 company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

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.