7,100 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Purchased by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after buying an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Murphy USA by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,389,000 after acquiring an additional 72,537 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% during 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. lifted 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 boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $421.34. 160,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 205,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $414.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.93 and a 12-month high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.21 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.