Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 635.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 276,141 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 238,594 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.27% of Murphy USA worth $13,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,918,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $106,194,000 after purchasing an additional 164,519 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 441,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,802,000 after purchasing an additional 145,265 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 134.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,971 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,925,000 after buying an additional 137,709 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 355,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $99,371,000 after buying an additional 80,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.60.
View Our Latest Research Report on Murphy USA
Murphy USA Stock Performance
Murphy USA stock opened at $318.44 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.65 and a 12-month high of $323.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $310.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.44.
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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.09 by ($0.07). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 80.20% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.61 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 21.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.16%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 18,971 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.40, for a total value of $5,964,482.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,473 shares in the company, valued at $71,203,111.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 18,971 shares of Murphy USA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,473 shares in the company, valued at $71,203,111.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.31, for a total value of $211,617.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,815 shares of company stock worth $22,153,785. 9.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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. 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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