Assetmark Inc. Sells 1,713 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 4.7%, ending the quarter with 35,040 shares valued at $16,462,000.
• Several large investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Victory Capital Management Inc., significantly increased their holdings in Murphy USA during the first quarter.
• Murphy USA announced a dividend increase to $0.50 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.47% and a payout ratio of 8.44%.

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,040 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,713 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned about 0.18% of Murphy USA worth $16,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 63.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial cut Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.86.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MUSA traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $408.28. 75,162 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,849. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $420.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $457.21. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.44 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

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.