Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Huntington National Bank increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MUR. Mizuho downgraded Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Roth Capital downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Johnson Rice downgraded Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.46.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.5%

MUR traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $23.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,227,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,278,636. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 1.13. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $39.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $24.30 and its 200 day moving average is $24.46.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%. Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation 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 Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.36%.

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.