Sei Investments Co. Purchases 88,072 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 466,477 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 88,072 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.32% of Murphy Oil worth $14,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MUR. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 worth $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after buying an additional 14,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 43,668 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 13,262 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.2 %

MUR stock opened at $28.45 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 2.18. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.73.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued 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 firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.92.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price 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. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

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.