AQR Capital Management LLC Has $72.30 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.72% of Murphy USA worth $72,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded down $5.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $501.39. The stock had a trading volume of 48,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,033. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $475.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $393.22 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was 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 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.