Virtu Financial LLC Has $986,000 Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 230.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $6,874,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,775,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,029,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,333,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.14.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $550.85 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.45. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.