Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Insider Patrick Wagner Sells 36,094 Shares

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.6 %

MRO stock opened at $28.92 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.52 and its 200 day moving average is $27.62. The firm has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake 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 buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.