Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 6,627 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 82.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,452 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,627 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $417,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 9,685 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 32,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 238,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,380,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRO. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.42% 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.