As of June 11, 2023, Marshall Wace LLP has increased its stake in Murphy Oil Co. by a staggering 188.7%. This news broke after the company recently filed their 13F with the SEC, indicating their latest purchase of an additional 1,115,746 shares during the fourth quarter. After this recent acquisition, Marshall Wace LLP now holds a total of 1,706,907 shares in Murphy Oil and it is valued at $73,414,000.
Murphy Oil has been the subject of numerous analyst reports, with varying opinions on its potential for growth in the market. UBS Group issued a “neutral” rating and $45.00 price target for the company while Mizuho dropped their price target to $48.00 from $50.00. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley increased its price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 and The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price from $34.00 to $41.00 while maintaining a “neutral” rating.
Despite mixed investor sentiment towards Murphy Oil’s potential performance in the market, data from Bloomberg.com indicates that it currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” among five equities research analysts who have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven assigned buy ratings to the stock.
Looking at MUR’s stock movement over time reveals that it opened at $38.41 on June 11th and had a market cap of $6 billion along with a PE ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 2.37 as well as experiencing both highs and lows over the past year – ranging from $25.97 to $51.28.
In summary, while there are varying opinions from analysts regarding Murphy Oil’s future growth potential in the market; however,data shows interest from major investors such as Marshall Wace LLP which could suggest positive developments for the company moving forward.
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Institutional Investors Continue to Increase Holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation Despite Headwinds
Despite facing headwinds, Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) remains one of the most highly sought-after stocks by institutional investors, as indicated by their continued increase in holdings in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, IFP Advisors Inc, Advisory Services Network LLC, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, and State of Michigan Retirement System have all purchased additional shares in recent quarters. In total, institutional investors and hedge funds now own 77.55% of the company’s stock.
Following this trend is CFO Thomas J. Mireles who recently sold 14,500 shares worth a total of $509,530 at an average price of $35.14 on May 18th. The current disclosure states that he now has 58,372 Murphy Oil shares valued at $2,051,192.08.
The corporation’s performance has piqued analysts’ interests with UBS Group initiating coverage on Murphy Oil with a “neutral” rating in April whilst Piper Sandler set its target price on the company’s stock to be above its true value at $59.00.
Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 30.08%, which contributed to the oil and gas producer’s impressive Q1 financial results reported last month; posting revenue figures of $841.72 million compared to estimates from industry professionals averaging around $777.23 million.
On June 1st shareholders received a quarterly dividend payment following record date validation during May where each shareholder received dividends equivalent to $0.275 per share held which represents an annualized dividend yield ratio of just under three percent.
Data from Bloomberg.com indicates that five out of twelve stock exchange analysts have given MUR ratings ranging from “Moderate Buy” to “Strong Buy” while seven recommend buying as it makes for an excellent addition to stocks that are high performing within today’s market conditions.
Murphy Oil’s stock prices are expected to increase further this year, demonstrating the company’s value as a good investment option and potentially, heightening investor interest in Institutional investors even further.