Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,301 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $96,241,000 after buying an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,560,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.0% in the fourth 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 8.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 153,213 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,358,000 after purchasing an additional 12,015 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $479.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $436.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $404.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $282.49 and a 1-year high of $488.62.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.57 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of Murphy USA 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 owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,871,580.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $408.60.

Murphy USA 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.