2,810 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Bought by Dakota Wealth Management

Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 60,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,418,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $508,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,503.68. The trade was a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1%

MUSA stock opened at $505.75 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $523.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $424.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $402.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $447.33.

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.