Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 580,020 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 68,349 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Marathon Oil worth $15,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $40,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:MRO traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.27. The company had a trading volume of 7,521,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,996,924. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 2.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.50. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Susquehanna cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.12.

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.