Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Murphy USA worth $8,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $4.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $439.65. 440,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,091. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $408.15 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $476.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.27. 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 (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $526.29.

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.