Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Invests $415,000 in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 827 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $191,407,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $10.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $470.43. 293,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,367. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.15. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.