Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 824 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,918,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Murphy USA by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $106,194,000 after purchasing an additional 164,519 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $49,209,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after acquiring an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $415.86 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.49 and a 12 month high of $430.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $409.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $379.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.59%.

About Murphy USA

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.