Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 168,220 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,714,683 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 168,220 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 4.94% of Murphy Oil worth $295,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $1,821,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,762 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $1,879,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 2,349.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 156,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,982,000 after purchasing an additional 149,813 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 45,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Elisabeth W. Keller sold 1,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.49, for a total value of $50,766.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,298.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $43.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.99. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $32.80 and a 52 week high of $48.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 2.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.05 and a 200-day moving average of $41.59.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.82.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and natural 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.