Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 4,494 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. by 5,480.5%, acquiring an additional 4,494 shares to reach a total of 4,576 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, up from $0.50, representing an annualized dividend of $2.12 and a yield of 0.6%.
• The company's stock has experienced fluctuating ratings from various analysts, with Zacks Research recently moving it from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell," while KeyCorp maintained an "overweight" rating with a price target of $480.00.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 5,480.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,576 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 646 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MUSA. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $477.33.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.6%

Murphy USA stock opened at $374.57 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. 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 market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.28.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Murphy USA Company 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.

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