IPG Investment Advisors LLC Has $12.16 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,133 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA accounts for 2.1% of IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $12,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.71.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 43,362 shares of company stock valued at $25,779,517 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $515.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $522.22 and a 200 day moving average of $446.14. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

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.