3,200 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,667,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $499.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $470.68 and a 200 day moving average of $493.50. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. KeyCorp began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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 quarter, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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