Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 167,185 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 90.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,303 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 167,185 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,807,277 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $84,948,000 after buying an additional 114,656 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,008,000 after acquiring an additional 837,282 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,674,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $50,673,000 after purchasing an additional 283,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $53,824,000 after purchasing an additional 336,372 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased 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 $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR stock traded up $0.79 on Thursday, reaching $21.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 698,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,256. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.10%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Murphy Oil 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.