Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,136 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,207 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Murphy USA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $463.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $469.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

About Murphy USA

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.