Easterly Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 16,864 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.38. 751,780 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,024,380. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.52.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.87%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

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.