Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,564 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $7,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,967,000 after purchasing an additional 23,349 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,134,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE MUSA opened at $505.77 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $609.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $524.17 and a 200-day moving average of $447.60. The firm has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,362 shares of company stock worth $25,779,517. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.