Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Holdings Increased by Grace & White Inc. NY

Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,052 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY owned approximately 0.10% of Murphy Oil worth $4,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 28.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.3 %

MUR stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.30. 2,325,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,579,403. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $25.26 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.61%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, 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. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MUR shares. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.