Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,938,182 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 216,181 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.44% of Murphy Oil worth $240,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% in the fourth 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. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 399.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,177,000 after purchasing an additional 810,104 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,529,528 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $46,284,000 after purchasing an additional 794,730 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 886,485.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 594,012 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $17,976,000 after buying an additional 593,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 418.9% during the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 645,252 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $19,525,000 after buying an additional 520,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,937,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,346. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.68. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $18.95 and a one year high of $46.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.23.

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.