Northern Trust Corp trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 37.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,404 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 97,744 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.75% of Murphy USA worth $50,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 213.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,789 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $2,016,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $593,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Murphy USA by 7.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,407 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,670,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,953,000 after acquiring an additional 35,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.00.
View Our Latest Report on MUSA
Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $370.62 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.65 and a 52 week high of $382.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $361.82 and its 200-day moving average is $325.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.72.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty retailer reported $7.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $1.61. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 71.06%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 6th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 6.91%.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.69, for a total value of $11,000,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 412,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,104,515.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.69, for a total transaction of $11,000,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 412,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,104,515.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 7,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total transaction of $2,648,277.06. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,133,033.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,474 shares of company stock worth $14,477,727. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.
Murphy USA 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.
See Also
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