Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 46.9% in the first quarter, now holding 7,736 shares worth approximately $3.6 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, which represents an annual yield of 0.6%.
• Murphy USA's stock is rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with an average price target of $476.29, despite a recent decrease in price targets from various firms.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 46.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,736 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 6,824 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $59,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $376.32. The company had a trading volume of 219,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $401.85 and a 200-day moving average of $440.05. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value 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 trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Profile

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.