Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Increases Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.6% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 34.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in Murphy USA by 2.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,983 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 0.7% during the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $412.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $408.00 and a 200 day moving average of $378.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.49 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s payout ratio 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.