Man Group plc Sells 65,353 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Man Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 65,353 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.13% of Murphy Oil worth $5,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 60.5% in 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 last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.90. 1,493,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,207,064. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.30. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $18.95 and a 52-week high of $43.02. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.10.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $665.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MUR. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.23.

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.