First Trust Advisors LP Trims Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,810 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 28,280 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of Murphy USA worth $16,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $1,606,000. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,948 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $796,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MUSA traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $497.27. 46,935 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,762. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. 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 has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $473.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.90.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $539.00.

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.