Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,583 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,800,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 305.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,156 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,071 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its position in Murphy USA by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE MUSA traded down $2.90 on Tuesday, hitting $504.23. 90,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,001. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $475.38 and a 200 day moving average of $494.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $403.37 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.26%.

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.