Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Stock Holdings Lessened by Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC

Key Points

• Aristotle Atlantic Partners reduced its Murphy USA stake by 19.5% in the first quarter, selling 5,400 shares and ending with 22,238 shares worth about $11 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with SVP Scott G. Woodward and Director Robert Madison Murphy both trimming holdings; insiders sold 46,225 shares total over the past 90 days.
• Murphy USA beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $7.28 versus $5.37 expected, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share.

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,238 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of Murphy USA worth $10,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 148.5% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $285,838. This represents a 24.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 342,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,286,875.52. This represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.5%

MUSA stock opened at $613.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $566.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $499.00. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

About Murphy USA

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.

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.