GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Shares in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 16,937 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.42. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.66.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil 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.