The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating ) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,690 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of Murphy Oil worth $6,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 13.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 18.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. 77.55% of the shares are owned by institutional investors.
Murphy Oil trades down 2.0%
Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $44.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $51.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.26, and its 200-day moving average is $40.84.
Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 26. The oil and gas producer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $975.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.62 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 24.54%. The company’s revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company reported $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will report 6.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy Oil increases dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 10th. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.10 and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.97%.
Insider trading at Murphy Oil
In related news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $379,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,993.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed via this link. In other Murphy Oil news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $379,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,993.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC’s website. In addition, CFO Thomas J. Mireles sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,199.64. Disclosure of this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,754 shares of company stock worth $10,615,495. 6.20% of shares are currently owned by insiders.
Promote and demote an analyst
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, October 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00, based on data from MarketBeat.com.
Murphy Oil Company Profile
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Murphy Oil Corp. is a holding company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the Exploration and Production and Corporate and Other segments. The exploration and production segment includes the United States, Canada and all other countries. The Corporate and Other segments focus on interest income, other gains and losses, interest expense and unallocated overhead.
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