Franklin Resources Inc. Has $61.87 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 11,103 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.62% of Murphy USA worth $61,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MUSA traded down $7.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $539.71. 207,513 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,837. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.42. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA 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.