Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,603 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.70% of Murphy USA worth $71,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $469.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $483.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.48.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

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.