Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $1.21 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 44.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,456 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 16.7% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 5.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 6.7% during the second quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $407.77 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $413.82 and its 200-day moving average is $391.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.38%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,890,325. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,963,381.92. The trade was a 15.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 50,918 shares of company stock worth $19,876,993 in the last ninety days. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.