Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,015 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 23,105 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in 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 position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $40,779,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. Nine research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the 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 owns 76,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.54. 7,847,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,058,048. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average of $27.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.12%.

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.