Alpine Associates Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 528,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,161,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Marathon Oil as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 6,066 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 49,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 12,413 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRO shares. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.87.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MRO opened at $26.13 on Monday. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.49. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

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.