Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 1,021 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,968 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,021 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.43% of Murphy USA worth $44,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,359.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth about $24,493,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,949,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 990.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings 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 worth $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MUSA traded up $3.08 on Monday, reaching $493.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,301. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $505.48 and a 200-day moving average of $469.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 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.