Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 20th, 2023

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO – Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,520,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 233,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.41% of Marathon Oil worth $60,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 65.8% during the first quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 90.6% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 76.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 78.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock opened at $26.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 2.37. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $33.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 28.52%. The company’s revenue was down 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Rob L. White sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.24, for a total transaction of $209,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $839,916.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.94.

View Our Latest Analysis on MRO

Marathon Oil Profile

(Free Report)

Marathon Oil Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States and internationally. The company engages in the exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas; and the production and marketing of products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.