Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,329,843 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 60,532 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $353,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $140,274,000 after buying an additional 19,566 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,805,000 after purchasing an additional 171,450 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 10.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,185,000 after purchasing 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 raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,864 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 28,350 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.96 and a 200-day moving average of $27.84. The firm 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 earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.