Wealthspire Advisors LLC Sells 169 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,332,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 107,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $459.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $491.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.03. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.80.

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.