Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 97,801 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 31.3%, selling 97,801 shares and now holds approximately 214,271 shares valued at $6.08 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Murphy Oil, with Pacer Advisors Inc. expanding their holdings by over 8,500% in the same quarter.
• Murphy Oil has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 50%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 31.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,271 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 97,801 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Murphy Oil worth $6,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.80. The company had a trading volume of 5,793,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,000. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $39.46. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.26% and a net margin of 10.20%. Murphy Oil's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Johnson Rice downgraded Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Roth Capital cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on 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, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.46.

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.