Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,367 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.21% of Murphy USA worth $11,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 522.9% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 218 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covington Capital Management purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 85.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.60.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.31, for a total transaction of $211,617.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.31, for a total transaction of $211,617.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 18,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.40, for a total value of $5,964,482.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,203,111.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,642 shares of company stock valued at $12,140,582. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Murphy USA Trading Up 1.3 %
Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $315.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $306.81 and a 200 day moving average of $281.94. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.65 and a fifty-two week high of $323.40.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.09 by ($0.07). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 80.20%. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.61 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 21.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.01%.
Murphy USA Company 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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.
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