Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 978 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 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. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $447.00 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $473.68 and a 200-day moving average of $496.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other 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 value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MUSA. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.67.

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.