Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.90% of Murphy USA worth $91,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

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Murphy USA Stock Down 3.8 %

Murphy USA stock traded down $17.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $448.76. 85,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,738. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average price is $486.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $502.70. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MUSA. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $510.80.

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.