Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 5,564 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,174 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,564 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Murphy USA worth $7,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at $204,286,875.52. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 43,362 shares of company stock worth $25,779,517 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE MUSA opened at $505.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $447.60. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $609.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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