MML Investors Services LLC Buys 753 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,071 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $539.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock traded up $6.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $500.82. 222,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,681. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $471.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 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.

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, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. 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 dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.