Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Stock Holdings Lowered by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 27.5%, selling 3,075 shares, and now holds 8,121 shares valued at $3,815,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Murphy USA, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its stake by 53,469.2% during the first quarter.
• Murphy USA recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.50, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Comerica Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,121 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,075 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.6% during the first quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,410,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 7.5% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 7,668 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,162,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.2%

MUSA traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $372.10. 109,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,436. The firm's fifty day moving average is $399.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.44. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.92 earnings per share. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

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.