Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys New Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,250 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,638,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $374,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 122.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MUSA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 26th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock traded up $2.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $505.22. 235,552 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,765. The company has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $494.52. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $404.33 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by ($1.11). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.26%.

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.