Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 63,231 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Channing Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 141,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 63,231 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $6,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $534,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,014 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 68,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.52. 655,672 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.47 and a 200-day moving average of $42.61. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $32.80 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly 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. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $794.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUR. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Scotiabank cut Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.64.

Murphy Oil Company 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.