Stifel Financial Corp Sells 80,345 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 328,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 80,345 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $8,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRO. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRO. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

About Marathon Oil

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.