Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 249,680 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 1,444.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 266,970 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 249,680 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $7,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $140,274,000 after buying an additional 19,566 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,805,000 after acquiring an additional 171,450 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,369 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $6,673,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Marathon Oil by 70.0% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,864 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 28,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock valued at $9,930,271. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MRO shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

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.