Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 363 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $71,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 622.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $452.19 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $482.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $501.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (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, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. 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 is 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.