First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 231,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,563,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at about $611,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 2.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 815,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $23,100,000 after purchasing an additional 23,323 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 90,401 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 126.2% during the 1st quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 47,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 26,502 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, 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 value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.64. 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 cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Saturday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

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.