Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 65.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $38,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,731,000 after purchasing an additional 136,766 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $241,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $3,683,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 34,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,197,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 81.9% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 2.6%

MUSA opened at $356.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $381.62 and its 200-day moving average is $409.81. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.20 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

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.