Vanguard Group Inc. Has $935.47 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.21% of Murphy USA worth $935,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.2 %

Murphy USA stock traded up $10.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $470.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,607. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The firm's 50 day moving average is $471.75 and its 200 day moving average is $495.15. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

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.