XTX Topco Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,586 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,586 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $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 4th quarter valued at about $53,777,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $30,122,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA traded up $7.52 on Tuesday, reaching $507.33. The company had a trading volume of 21,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,892. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.37. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens raised Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.00.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 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.