KBC Group NV Increases Stock Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 227.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,231 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 113,429 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $4,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth $26,000. Founders Capital Management grew its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MRO traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.04. 4,174,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,962,957. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.57.

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

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 1.52%. Marathon Oil's payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

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.