LPL Financial LLC Purchases 2,960 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,549 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 37.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 18.6% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at about $97,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 6.0% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.55% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.2 %

MUR stock opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.51. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 2.37. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $51.28.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $841.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.23 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 30.08%. The business’s revenue was up 52.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 13.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, CFO Thomas J. Mireles sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.14, for a total value of $509,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,051,192.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

About Murphy Oil

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Murphy Oil Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the Exploration and Production and Corporate and Other segment. The Exploration and Production segment includes the United States, Canada, and all other countries. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on interest income, other gains and losses, interest expense, and unallocated overhead.