Larson Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Larson Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,591 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,423 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.53 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.42. The firm has a market cap 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus upgraded 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. Barclays started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reduced their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.