MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 5,125 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $140,274,000 after purchasing an additional 19,566 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,805,000 after purchasing an additional 171,450 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $392,185,000 after buying an additional 1,357,369 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,673,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Marathon Oil by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,864 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 28,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.73. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.