Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Acquired by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $54,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,387,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $445.19 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $495.66 and a 200-day moving average of $504.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.93%.

Murphy USA Company 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.