Leeward Investments LLC MA Has $25.37 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,137 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,896 shares during the period. Murphy USA makes up 1.2% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $25,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 in the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $421.34 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.93 and a 52-week high of $430.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.