Meeder Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,971 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 45,171 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents 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.

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Murphy Oil Stock Down 13.0 %

Shares of MUR traded down $3.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $25.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,907,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,896. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.20 and its 200 day moving average is $30.60.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.92.

Murphy Oil 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.