Pinebridge Investments L.P. Increases Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,332 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,041 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,620 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 valued at $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $618,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $678,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.1 %

MUR stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $21.76. 4,076,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,398. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.36. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently 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.