Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.67 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,142 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of Murphy Oil worth $2,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MUR. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.15.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $20.90 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $18.95 and a one year high of $48.64. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.03 and a 200-day moving average of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

About Murphy Oil

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.