Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 5,555 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,555 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.08% of Murphy USA worth $8,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 46.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 276.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,486 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James cut Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.3%

Murphy USA stock traded down $1.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $456.99. 189,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 210,057. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $474.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.01. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $424.03 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, 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. 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.