Cynosure Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $480.64 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $471.45 and its 200-day moving average is $494.19. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (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%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

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.