Cumberland Partners Ltd Has $891,000 Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth $138,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Murphy USA by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,623,000 after buying an additional 8,972 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,925,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,654,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $3.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $419.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 91,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,312. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $412.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $381.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $267.93 and a one year high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 6.59%.

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.