Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Cuts Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 82.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,452 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,627 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $27.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

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.