Fisher Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,270,758 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 18,247 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.87% of Murphy Oil worth $38,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $119,755,000 after buying an additional 45,432 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $88,659,000 after acquiring an additional 58,220 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,824,000 after purchasing an additional 336,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $2.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.47. The company had a trading volume of 3,424,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,782. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $24.27 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.15.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company's stock.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.