1,456 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Bought by Islay Capital Management LLC

Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,456 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $53,777,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $30,122,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 54,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MUSA. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $4.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $480.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 93,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,196. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.48 and a 200 day moving average of $492.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

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.