Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 249,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,088,000 after purchasing an additional 11,259 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 270,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,209,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.14.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.65. 8,301,524 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,447,411. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.55. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 2.19. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.55 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.