Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $16.58 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its Murphy USA stake by 21,756.4% in Q4, ending with 41,090 shares valued at about $16.58 million.
• Murphy USA reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.28 versus the $5.37 consensus and revenue of $4.82 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive: the stock carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” with several recent upgrades and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 21,756.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,090 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 40,902 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.22% of Murphy USA worth $16,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 318.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $164,940,000 after buying an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $116,029,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 203,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $78,842,000 after buying an additional 80,702 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 188,664 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,251,000 after buying an additional 7,145 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total value of $456,444.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,778.17. The trade was a 42.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,210 shares of company stock worth $27,129,150 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Murphy USA Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $556.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $513.64 and its 200-day moving average is $440.05. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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