King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $15.13 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,287 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $15,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $469.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $483.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.48. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend yield of 0.42%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

About Murphy USA

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.