American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 3,614 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.34% of Murphy USA worth $24,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,967,000 after buying an additional 23,349 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 74,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,473,000 after buying an additional 9,051 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Murphy USA by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,405,000 after buying an additional 5,128 shares during the period. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 200.8% during the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 6,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 4,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $438.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $412.52 and a 200-day moving average of $393.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.38%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,833 shares of company stock worth $6,154,491. 10.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research 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. Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA 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.