Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Trims Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 58.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,995 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 17,130 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second 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 last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Nine equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.