Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 557 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NDVR Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $393.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $406.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $447.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.