Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 958 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 958 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,797,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,560,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 194,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 128,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,709,000 after acquiring an additional 17,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,032,498. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $428.83.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $504.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $282.49 and a twelve month high of $520.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $469.48 and a 200 day moving average of $427.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.39%.

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.