Lee Tillman Is The Chairman of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) And They Just Spent US$191k On Shares
Investors who take an interest in Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) should definitely note that the Chairman, Lee Tillman, recently paid US$4.01 per share to buy US$191k worth of the stock. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 8.2%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.
View our latest analysis for Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent purchase by Lee Tillman is the biggest insider purchase of Marathon Oil shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$3.45 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Lee Tillman was the only individual insider to buy over the year.
Lee Tillman bought a total of 75.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$4.01. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership of Marathon Oil
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.2% of Marathon Oil shares, worth about US$6.5m, according to our data. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Marathon Oil Insiders?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Marathon Oil insiders are expecting a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Marathon Oil (including 1 which is significant).
But note: Marathon Oil may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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