Invesco Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Invesco Ltd. lessened its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 429,574 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 41,028 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 2.17% of Murphy USA worth $201,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,613,000 after purchasing an additional 180,055 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,662,000 after purchasing an additional 96,200 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Murphy USA by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,247 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $106,495,000 after buying an additional 41,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 144,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,301,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded down $2.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $391.06. 42,604 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,703. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The business's 50-day moving average is $406.95 and its 200-day moving average is $447.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial cut Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.29.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.