Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stake Trimmed by Wealthspire Advisors LLC

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $7,332,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in Murphy USA by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 107,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 120.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $459.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $491.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $504.03.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.80.

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.