Swiss National Bank Sells 33,700 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 292,300 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 33,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Murphy Oil worth $12,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,098,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,338,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.55. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.80 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $794.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $750.94 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 16.40%. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.64.

Murphy Oil Company 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.