Signaturefd LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 58.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 423 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,841,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $440.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.29. 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 (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

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.