Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Acquired by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,480 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Murphy USA worth $16,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $291,068,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 284,564 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $142,780,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Murphy USA Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $5.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $480.64. The stock had a trading volume of 225,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The business's 50-day moving average price is $471.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $494.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.