Federated Hermes Inc. Has $19.80 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,469 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 17,806 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.19% of Murphy USA worth $19,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,965 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 122.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,560 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,306,000 after purchasing an additional 8,001 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,444 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,944 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,780,000. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

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Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $5.21 on Monday, reaching $508.71. 98,441 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,677. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $468.08 and a 200-day moving average of $492.46. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.73.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS 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, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA 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 at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.