Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 127,107 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of Murphy Oil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $119,755,000 after buying an additional 45,432 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,659,000 after buying an additional 58,220 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,824,000 after purchasing an additional 336,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The purchase 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $28.33 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.79. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

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.