Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Has $242,000 Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lessened its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,777,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,122,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. KeyCorp began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius Research upgraded 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, one has given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $539.00.

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Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded up $32.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $514.54. The company had a trading volume of 577,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,424. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $468.08 and a 200 day moving average of $492.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Company 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.