Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 62,689 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,667,192 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 62,689 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.90% of Murphy USA worth $647,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 251.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $391.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $413.25 and its 200 day moving average is $392.74. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,219 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.09, for a total transaction of $470,643.71. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,355.43. The trade was a 17.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $52,825,050. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,935 shares of company stock worth $4,248,945 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.