Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 1,465.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $69,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 451.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,401,000 after buying an additional 10,552 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Murphy USA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $102,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.6 %

Murphy USA stock traded up $14.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $545.34. 164,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,924. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50 day moving average is $497.63 and its 200 day moving average is $486.23. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. The business's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $495.33.

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.