CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,148 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,125 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $5,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth $1,136,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth $30,122,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $374,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 122.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business'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 transaction of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens raised Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $499.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $470.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.50. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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