Sigma Planning Corp Sells 16,506 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,487 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 16,506 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 293,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,099,000 after purchasing an additional 104,895 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth $577,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.43. 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 quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

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.