Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Acquired by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Murphy USA worth $8,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Murphy USA by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,040 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 194,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,372,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Murphy USA by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,964,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $521.60 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $500.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.18 and a twelve month high of $525.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.47 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

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.