Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 94.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,551 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% during 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% 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.9 %

MUSA stock traded up $4.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $490.72. The company had a trading volume of 163,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,509. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $470.84 and a 200 day moving average of $493.62. 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 $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.73.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company 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.