UBS Group AG Grows Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $12,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 28.1% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Covington Capital Management purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 613 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.30% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $277.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.39 and a 1 year high of $323.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $265.56 and its 200 day moving average is $272.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.95 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 86.87% and a net margin of 2.68%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 19.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 5.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $156,183.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,129.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.60.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.