Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $10.11 Million Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 334,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 111,500 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.23% of Murphy Oil worth $10,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 353.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,358 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.23.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired 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. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.2 %

MUR stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.08. 1,937,997 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,087,346. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average is $28.77. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $18.95 and a 52-week high of $46.91.

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 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 previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Murphy Oil's dividend 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.