Quest Partners LLC Takes $956,000 Position in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,904 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.20. 1,082,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,903,721. 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 market cap of $16.33 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.62.

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 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is 18.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target 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. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.