Ameriprise Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,522 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Murphy USA worth $11,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE MUSA opened at $457.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $424.03 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $474.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.44%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 25.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $526.29.

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.