Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 44,101 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 582,131 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 44,101 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Murphy Oil worth $17,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Murphy Oil by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.3 %

Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,094,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,217. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.61. 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 $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 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.

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Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.92.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.