Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network decreased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 557 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position 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 buying an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 2,911 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew 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 valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $490.03 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $505.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $469.03. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.