TD Private Client Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

TD Private Client Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 750 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,284,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 36.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 111,400.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.3% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 63.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $391.77 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $388.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.27. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. 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 currently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.17.

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.