Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Murphy USA worth $935,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Murphy USA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $91,841,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 9.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,873,000 after acquiring an additional 11,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.3 %

MUSA stock opened at $459.90 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $471.75 and its 200 day moving average is $495.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.