King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management cut its Murphy USA stake by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,599 shares and leaving it with 15,417 shares worth about $6.22 million.
• Insiders also sold shares, including SVP Keith A. Emery and SVP Renee M. Bacon; overall, insiders sold 43,362 shares worth about $25.8 million last quarter.
• Murphy USA reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63.

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,417 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 13,599 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.08% of Murphy USA worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Enhancing Capital LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 43,362 shares of company stock valued at $25,779,517 in the last quarter. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.9%

MUSA stock opened at $511.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $609.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $523.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $447.19.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUSA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.