Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,059 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 62,146 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MUR. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $53,008,000 after buying an additional 837,282 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 399.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $34,177,000 after acquiring an additional 810,104 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,824,000 after acquiring an additional 336,372 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 337,769 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,221,000 after acquiring an additional 150,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 188.5% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 204,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 133,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.2 %

MUR stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $28.45. 2,999,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,893,611. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.73. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year 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.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.