Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 744,763 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 21,700 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $31,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $209,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $44.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 2.22. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $32.80 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.57.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $794.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.94 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 16.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Murphy Oil news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total transaction of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644 in the last quarter. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.