Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 273 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Murphy USA worth $4,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 70.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Covington Capital Management acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $61,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $75,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Murphy USA by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Jennifer Bridges sold 2,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.41, for a total transaction of $828,749.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,418.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.69, for a total transaction of $11,000,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 412,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,104,515.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Bridges sold 2,268 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.41, for a total transaction of $828,749.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,418.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,647 shares of company stock worth $24,490,930 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $364.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.65 and a 52-week high of $382.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $355.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.38. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty retailer reported $7.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $1.61. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 71.06%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 22.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.91%.

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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.