Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $392.19 Million Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 1,357,369 shares during the period. Marathon Oil makes up approximately 0.8% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 2.63% of Marathon Oil worth $392,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 5.5% in the first 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. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 16,249 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 0.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 12.7% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 58,956 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 6,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $611,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.47. 10,538,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,058,358. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.62. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Marathon Oil's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.