Bailard Inc. Acquires 3,300 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,562 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 3,904.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $89,198,000 after buying an additional 2,038,692 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,172 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $78,554,000 after acquiring an additional 442,579 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 837,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,969,000 after purchasing an additional 348,645 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 60.9% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 837,625 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,986,000 after purchasing an additional 316,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at about $11,273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total value of $4,442,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,035,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of MUR opened at $46.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $32.80 and a 52 week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued 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 2.58%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 28.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.