Bessemer Group Inc. Has $33.31 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,888 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Murphy USA worth $33,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after acquiring an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $3.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $408.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 323,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,577. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $445.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.60. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.44 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. The company 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 firm posted $3.12 EPS. Murphy USA's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

About Murphy USA

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.