Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 1,383 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Murphy USA by 16.2%, acquiring an additional 1,383 shares, bringing its total to about 9,922 shares valued at approximately $4.66 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions, with institutional investors now owning 80.81% of Murphy USA's stock.
• Murphy USA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.50, reflecting a positive change in the company's financial strategy.

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,922 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.05% of Murphy USA worth $4,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,613,000 after buying an additional 180,055 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,065,000 after buying an additional 46,677 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $118,662,000 after acquiring an additional 96,200 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,247 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $106,495,000 after acquiring an additional 41,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $373.18. 242,773 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,570. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $398.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $436.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The firm has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.