New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Murphy USA worth $11,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,387,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,122,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.80.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $485.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $502.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.