Boothbay Fund Management LLC Invests $400,000 in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 797 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third 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 boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $5.79 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $508.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,543. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 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 52 week low of $403.37 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $476.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $539.00.

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.