Swiss National Bank Sells 34,900 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,674,109 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 34,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Marathon Oil worth $44,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 15.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,882,000 after buying an additional 22,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $6,673,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 25.3% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,839,607 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $52,134,000 after buying an additional 371,642 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 14.6% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 270,215 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,196,000 after buying an additional 34,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 217.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,082 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,545,000 after buying an additional 85,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following 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 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.35. 662,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,901,861. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.52 and a 200 day moving average of $27.62.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. Marathon Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.