Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 1.8%, owning a total of 144,202 shares valued at approximately $67.75 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Victory Capital Management Inc., significantly boosted their positions in Murphy USA, reflecting strong institutional interest, with 80.81% of the company's stock owned by such investors.
• Murphy USA announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53, indicating a positive change in shareholder returns despite a 8.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,202 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.73% of Murphy USA worth $67,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA traded down $2.47 on Monday, hitting $391.20. 64,885 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 294,833. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $406.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.37. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. 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 (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MUSA. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.