Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Stock Holdings Boosted by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 50.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,467 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MUR. Barclays cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.6 %

Murphy Oil stock opened at $26.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 2.14. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.26 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.56.

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 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.61%.

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.