Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Acquired by Key Financial Inc

Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 942.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $51,918,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $106,194,000 after acquiring an additional 164,519 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $49,209,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.60.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $421.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $265.49 and a one year high of $430.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $411.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $380.26.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.59%.

Murphy USA 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.