Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 16,954 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,564 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,954 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.41% of Murphy USA worth $142,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 26,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,470,000 after acquiring an additional 9,827 shares in the last quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $415,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $112,741,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $459.90 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $471.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $495.15.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.