Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC Sells 4,711 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC reduced its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,711 shares during the period. Murphy USA comprises approximately 1.4% of Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $33,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 13,250 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

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

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $499.59 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $509.93 and its 200 day moving average is $463.66. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $339.96 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.55%.

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.