Ardevora Asset Management LLP Buys 76,210 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 76,210 shares during the period. Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $10,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 293,850 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,099,000 after buying an additional 104,895 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $577,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.76.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.4 %

MRO stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.50. The company had a trading volume of 7,842,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,374,428. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.35. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

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.