Acadian Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 392.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,717 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,048 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 25,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,675 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.09.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, Director Elisabeth W. Keller sold 1,116 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.49, for a total value of $50,766.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,298.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE MUR opened at $43.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.91 and its 200-day moving average is $41.75. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $32.80 and a one year high of $48.47.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Murphy Oil Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and natural 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.