Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 7,795 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman trimmed its stake in Murphy USA by 4.3%, selling 7,795 shares and leaving it with 173,063 shares (about 0.92% of the company) worth roughly $67.2 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — 14,833 shares worth $6.15 million were sold in the last 90 days (including the CEO), and insiders now own 9.04% of the stock.
• Murphy USA reported quarterly EPS of $7.53 (beating estimates) with revenue of $4.74 billion (slightly below expectations); the company has a $8.12 billion market cap, pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (0.6% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of Hold with an average target of $457.50.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,063 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,795 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.92% of Murphy USA worth $67,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $227,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 568 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $438.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $393.68. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens cut their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $457.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,785,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $52,825,050. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 14,833 shares of company stock worth $6,154,491 in the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Company 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.

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.