Wellington Management Group LLP Has $4.28 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $222,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 35.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 863 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 622.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $7.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $513.86. The stock had a trading volume of 25,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,669. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.85. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve 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.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

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.