King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $15.13 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 90.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 14,287 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.15% of Murphy USA worth $15,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,777,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,122,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $469.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $483.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $501.48. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Remove Ads

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.