Reading the Tea Leaves: Conviction with Large Insider Buying – Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR), The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE)

Shortly afterward, Murphy Oil announced a $2.50 special dividend, a $1 billion share buyback program, and announced the separation of its downstream business into a separate company. Shares rose nicely on the news.

Clairborne Deming is the insider who recently purchased $1.2 million of Murphy Oil stock. The Chairman purchased 20,000 shares of stock on the open market for approximately $60.86 per share, and the total transaction value amounted to $1,217,200 when the stock was bought on February 27.

Deming served as President and CEO of the El Dorado, Arkansas based Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) from October 1994 through December 2008.

On February 14, analysts at Oppenheimer & Co. raised their price target on Murphy Oil to $75 from a previous $65 based on the company’s strong January 30 earnings report. Third Point Capital disclosed that it had increased its stake in Murphy Oil with the firm’s 13F regulatory filing on the same date.

A $75 price target from Oppenheimer reflects more than 23% upside from the purchase price of Mr. Deming’s stock at $60.86.

Foolish Bottom Line

Despite the broader market reaching multi-year highs, I believe readers will do well to follow in the footsteps of insiders at The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), LogMeIn, and Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR).

Feel free to express your opinion on these stocks or ask a follow-up question in the comments section below.

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The article Reading the Tea Leaves: Conviction with Large Insider Buying originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Macris

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