Bank of America Corp DE Reduces Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,811 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 17,171 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.39% of Murphy USA worth $40,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $526.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $1.24 on Monday, reaching $458.76. The company had a trading volume of 239,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,137. The firm has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $474.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $424.03 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

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.