Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,053 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,816,692 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $762,637,000 after purchasing an additional 137,059 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,937,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 31,974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 5,574 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Murphy Oil by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,223 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 557,463 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at $470,447.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at $470,447.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.5 %

MUR opened at $46.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $32.80 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.67.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 28.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MUR. Barclays began coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.64.

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.