River Road Asset Management LLC Has $204.27 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Murphy USA accounts for 2.2% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 2.73% of Murphy USA worth $204,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $550.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $544.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.28. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.64 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp raised their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America raised Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.14.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.