BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $27.33 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 363.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,471 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 42,712 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.27% of Murphy USA worth $27,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth 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 shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after buying an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA traded up $1.40 on Friday, hitting $445.45. 783,272 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 206,116. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 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. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $422.66 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $476.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $494.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Raymond James lowered Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $526.29.

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.