Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 94.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,551 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $490.72. 105,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,207. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average is $470.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given 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 yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.