DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 5,310 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,777 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,310 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Murphy USA worth $36,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Murphy USA by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 622.9% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 3,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $480.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $471.45 and a 200-day moving average of $494.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.