Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after acquiring an additional 140,879 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 30.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,389,000 after purchasing an additional 72,537 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 192,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $65,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,180,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $420.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.93 and a 52-week high of $430.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $382.65.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.