Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Position Lowered by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 60,712 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.40% of Murphy USA worth $40,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $374,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $61,873,000 after acquiring an additional 11,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $445.45. The stock had a trading volume of 783,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,116. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $476.03 and its 200 day moving average is $494.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $422.66 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Stephens decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.