Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 36,600 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 329,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 36,600 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Murphy Oil worth $9,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,916 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.76. 4,076,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,398. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $18.95 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

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.