UMB Bank n.a. Sells 54 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

UMB Bank n.a. lessened its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 111,400.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,231,000 after acquiring an additional 552,872 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,563,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $414.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $406.94 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $465.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.96.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MUSA. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.29.

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, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.