Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 1,398 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 26.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,813 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,398 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 451.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 10,552 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,797,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 28.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,906,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $495.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.6 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $545.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $552.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $497.63 and a 200 day moving average of $487.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

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.