588 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Acquired by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 588 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,415 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth $595,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.6 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $412.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.69 and a 12-month high of $430.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $414.74 and a 200 day moving average of $385.72.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.05%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,645 shares of company stock valued at $4,326,582 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.73% 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.