AGF Management Ltd. Has $2.46 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. FMR LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $91,841,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.8 %

MUSA opened at $448.31 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.80. 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’s 50-day moving average is $481.66 and its 200 day moving average is $500.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS 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, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders 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 0.44%. 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. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.