Highbridge Capital Management LLC Takes $29,000 Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,061,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,104,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 323.9% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,369,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,122 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly 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. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MRO opened at $27.43 on Thursday. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.65.

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.