Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,255,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 103.3% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 61,612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,946,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $536,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $382.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $392.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $431.07. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.