Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Holdings Lowered by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 13.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $78,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% during the 2nd 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. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,493,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,949,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 990.2% during the 1st 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. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1,091.4% during the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’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 transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $490.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $505.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $469.03.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 7.55%.

Murphy USA 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.