Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Has $35.29 Million Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,166,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,249 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Murphy Oil worth $35,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MUR. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in 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 buying an additional 565 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $113,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents 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.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.2 %

Murphy Oil stock opened at $27.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.86. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.