Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Holdings Lowered by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,497 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Murphy USA worth $41,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after acquiring an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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 report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $425.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 336,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,856. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $429.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $385.44 and a one year high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.48.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.44%.

About Murphy USA

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.