Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 163,943 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 36,749 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Murphy Oil worth $4,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Murphy Oil Trading Down 11.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $2.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.52. The stock had a trading volume of 643,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,909,547. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $22.53 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.10 and its 200 day moving average is $30.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 2.18.

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

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MUR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.92.

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.