Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Sells 250,000 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 71.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 100,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 250,000 shares during the period. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $3,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,846,000. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 25,179 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 14,233 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $678,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 904,449 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,369,000 after buying an additional 116,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $24.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 2.14. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.92.

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

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

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.