LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,486 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $6,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $583,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,960,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $19,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $915,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $539.00.

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Murphy USA Stock Up 6.7 %

Shares of MUSA traded up $32.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $514.54. The company had a trading volume of 577,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $468.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.49. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 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.