Point72 DIFC Ltd Makes New $6.67 Million Investment in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 232,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,673,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 199.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 324,022 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,290,000 after buying an additional 215,644 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $40,779,000. Sagefield Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 35.3% in the second quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 409,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,733,000 after buying an additional 106,743 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 14.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 790,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,930,000 after buying an additional 101,535 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $290,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.63. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced 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 company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Capital One Financial downgraded Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.65.

Marathon Oil 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.