Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,477 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 88,072 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.32% of Murphy Oil worth $14,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth $618,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $678,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 14,181 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,968,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,954. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.60. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.18.

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Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.