Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 3,022 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,485 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,022 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Murphy USA worth $27,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.9 %

MUSA traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $490.72. 163,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,359. The stock's 50-day moving average is $470.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.56. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

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.