Intech Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 39.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,424 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $81,560,000. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,813,000 after purchasing an additional 86,932 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 518.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 74,770 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,660,000 after purchasing an additional 62,688 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $24,493,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $8,949,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $496.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.80 and a 52-week high of $552.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $510.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.54.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA 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 transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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