Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Holdings Lifted by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 35,556.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 269,159 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.27% of Murphy USA worth $96,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,670,297 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $533,953,000 after buying an additional 35,610 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $106,194,000 after purchasing an additional 164,519 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 355,479 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $99,371,000 after purchasing an additional 80,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 3.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 334,651 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $86,357,000 after purchasing an additional 10,944 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $4.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $417.87. The company had a trading volume of 237,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,225. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $251.37 and a 12-month high of $430.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $402.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $376.43.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.21 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 6.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.60.

Murphy USA Company 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.