Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 17,077 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 17,077 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.60% of Murphy USA worth $45,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $49,209,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 15.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $369,208,000 after buying an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $32,125,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 30.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $105,389,000 after buying an additional 72,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MUSA traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $418.02. The stock had a trading volume of 224,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,462. The business's 50 day moving average is $412.46 and its 200 day moving average is $381.95. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.93 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $408.60.

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.