9,288 Shares in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,288 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRO. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management grew its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna cut 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, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock opened at $28.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 18.88%.

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.