Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 237,192 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,144 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 237,192 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of Marathon Oil worth $8,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.76.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.4 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

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.