Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stake Cut by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 995 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $507.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $496.94 and a 200-day moving average of $452.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.18 and a twelve month high of $522.57.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.