Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Lowers Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,070 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $915,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,559 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,108 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $523,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius initiated 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction 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 three months. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $447.00 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $473.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Murphy USA 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.