Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,945,553 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 65,715 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 2.02% of Murphy Oil worth $89,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $8,395,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 329,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,980,000 after buying an additional 36,600 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 106,572 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 8,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 47,332 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 14,041 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.22. 2,375,988 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,090,220. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.68. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $18.95 and a twelve month high of $46.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MUR shares. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.