Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,403 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,139 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,021,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.4% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,865 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,819,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 26.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,758 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $457.89. 183,310 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,576. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.80. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

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.