Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $1.40 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MUSA. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $470.95 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $471.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.42. The firm has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.73. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.42%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 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.