Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips Sells 797 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $467.01 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $487.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $502.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.79. 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 one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.4% in 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 increased its position in Murphy USA by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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 lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.80.

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.