QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 10,597 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $1,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.5% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 102,974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,918,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $29.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,987,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,447,354. The company has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.66 and a 200-day moving average of $26.14. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Capital One Financial cut shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.81.

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.