American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 283,695 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,674,590 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 283,695 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.15% of Murphy Oil worth $50,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $28.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MUR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.31.

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.