Arizona State Retirement System Sells 194 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,698 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $138,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Murphy USA by 40.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,623,000 after acquiring an additional 8,972 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $4,654,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 27.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 73,205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,016,000 after acquiring an additional 15,914 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $410.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $406.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $377.97. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $263.15 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 6.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 over the last quarter. 9.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA 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.