Alpine Associates Management Inc. Purchases 17,772 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 546,572 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 17,772 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Marathon Oil worth $14,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,654 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Marathon Oil by 487.8% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 43,841 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 36,383 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 57,814 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 16,249 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 173.1% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 25,700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 16,288 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 231,530 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MRO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Nine 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,599 shares of company stock worth $9,923,300 in the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,246,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,927,017. The firm has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 2.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. 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 1.53%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.88%.

Marathon Oil Company 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.