Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,351 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,172 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.20% of Murphy USA worth $20,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MUSA traded up $4.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $511.03. The stock had a trading volume of 134,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,545. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $469.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.98. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.73. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.