Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.73% of Murphy USA worth $67,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 213.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,008 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,559,000 after buying an additional 21,118 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $796,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $476.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,580. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $389.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $407.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.92 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

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.