Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 44,345 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 44,345 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 11.1% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 87,933 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 8.6% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,784 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MUR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.58.

Murphy Oil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat on EPS: Murphy reported $0.14/share, beating the consensus loss and surprising to the upside — supportive for near-term earnings sentiment. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike: Murphy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 (7.7% increase) implying a ~4.5% yield — raises cash return to shareholders and supports income-oriented buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $32, reflecting some analyst optimism on valuation/upside. Wells Fargo PT
• Positive Sentiment: Operational upside: Coverage highlighting a successful appraisal well and follow‑on potential could support longer‑term production expectations. Appraisal Well
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosures: The full Q4 earnings presentation and transcript are available for investors who want detail on cash flow, capex and guidance; useful for modeling but not a single headline mover. Earnings Transcript Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported net profit: Local coverage notes a $11.9M quarterly profit — confirms profitability but magnitude is modest relative to market cap. Profit Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry developments (new offshore deals/discoveries in Morocco and Vietnam) may influence regional exploration sentiment but are not company‑specific catalysts. Morocco Deal Vietnam Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and market reaction: Q4 revenue came in below estimates, which analysts flagged and which triggered an intra‑day selloff. Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgrade: Barclays cut its rating to “underweight” and lowered its price target to $29, citing downside versus current levels — a clear near‑term headwind for sentiment. Barclays Downgrade TickerReport

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $30.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.49. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.76 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 180.56%.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.