MetLife Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 712 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $5,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $499.43 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $470.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.50. 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 (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.