IHT Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,042 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

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

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The business’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 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

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

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 18.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

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.