Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock Position Raised by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 100,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 159.6% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.52. The company had a trading volume of 626,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,691,737. The company has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.42.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio 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.