Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Trims Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,838 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC owned about 0.18% of Murphy USA worth $18,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 10.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $51.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $454.29. The stock had a trading volume of 689,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,911. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 0.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $404.33 and a one year high of $561.08. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $476.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.52.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.