Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 2.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 226.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO traded down $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $27.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,243,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,313,835. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.82 and a 200-day moving average of $26.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank cut Marathon Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Eight 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.14.

Marathon Oil Company 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.