Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Position Lowered by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,359.6% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,813,000 after buying an additional 86,932 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Murphy USA by 518.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 74,770 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,660,000 after acquiring an additional 62,688 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $24,493,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,949,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 990.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $489.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.94 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $510.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.57.

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.