Sei Investments Co. Reduces Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,897 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $480.64 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $471.45 and a 200-day moving average of $494.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by 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.