Invesco Ltd. Purchases 18,097 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $236,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $514.54 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $468.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.49.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.