Corebridge Financial Inc. Reduces Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,491 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 18,740 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Murphy Oil worth $6,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MUR. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MUR stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.80. The company had a trading volume of 362,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,450. 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 has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.61. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

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Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought 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 $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays dropped 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. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.92.

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.