Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 8,967 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 174,074 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,967 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.88% of Murphy USA worth $81,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after buying an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $9.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $433.99. 337,959 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 285,417. The stock has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $429.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.10. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.44 and a 1-year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $526.29.

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.