Assetmark Inc. Acquires 7,598 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,427 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $11,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 191.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 394.7% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,645 shares of company stock valued at $4,326,582 over the last 90 days. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, reaching $441.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $418.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $390.66. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.69 and a 12-month high of $447.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 25.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.39%.

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.