Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 164 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $112,741,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Murphy USA by 248.9% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,629,000 after buying an additional 3,738 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,736 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,375,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius initiated 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 for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $475.95 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $471.46 and a 200-day moving average of $494.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.