Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,761 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 9,249 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Marathon Oil by 5.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Marathon Oil by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 41.3% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 50.0% during the first quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE MRO opened at $27.39 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.34.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.66.

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.