By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 284,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $142,780,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 26,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,470,000 after acquiring an additional 9,827 shares during the period. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $415,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MUSA
Insider Activity
In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Murphy USA Stock Performance
Shares of MUSA stock opened at $514.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $468.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.49. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. 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 currently 8.10%.
Murphy USA Company Profile
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.
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