Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Holdings Cut by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,173,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 197,853 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Marathon Oil worth $33,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% during 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 lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in 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 buying an additional 3,795,020 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $64,061,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $30,104,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 323.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,369,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,122 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 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 transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $27.93 on Friday. 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 price is $27.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.56. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. 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 presently 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRO. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Susquehanna cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.