Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases 82,580 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 920,205 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 82,580 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.60% of Murphy Oil worth $39,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,827 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,679 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3,904.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,904 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $89,198,000 after buying an additional 2,038,692 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,035,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,811,324.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,035,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644 over the last quarter. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,188,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,757,995. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.44. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $32.80 and a 52 week high of $49.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The company's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 28.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MUR. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.55.

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.