Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,656 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 30.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,389,000 after purchasing an additional 72,537 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 192,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $65,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $392.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $268.69 and a 1-year high of $430.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $414.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $384.99.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.