Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $799,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $94,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Murphy USA by 20.4% in the second quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 22.6% in the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 3,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $496.47 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $510.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.80 and a 1 year high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $464.57.

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.