Wellington Management Group LLP Has $4.28 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $53,777,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 363.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,471 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,331,000 after buying an additional 42,712 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.1%

MUSA traded up $4.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $424.80. 198,423 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,423. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $470.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $486.06. 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 fifty-two week low of $414.51 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MUSA. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

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.