Inspire Investing LLC Trims Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Inspire Investing LLC cut its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 41.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,232 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,426 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,061,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,104,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 323.9% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,369,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.65.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO opened at $27.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.65. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

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.