Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,408 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 93,694 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Marathon Oil worth $12,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 149.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 373,921 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,002,000 after purchasing an additional 223,877 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 3.4% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 36,395 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $173,493,000 after acquiring an additional 550,473 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $26.34. The stock had a trading volume of 9,055,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,206,166. Marathon Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.03 and a 200 day moving average of $25.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 21.83%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Marathon Oil's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Marathon Oil 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.

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