Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Sells 2,785 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,785 shares during the period. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. owned 0.09% of Murphy USA worth $6,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 251.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $429.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $456.67 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $416.59 and a 200 day moving average of $395.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.38%.

Murphy USA Company 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.