Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Bought by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 144.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $30,122,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $18,971,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,529,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $452.64 on Friday. 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 $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $480.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $500.46. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

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.