William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 44.3%, selling 31,455 shares in the second quarter, leading to ownership of about 39,592 shares valued at $16.1 million.
• Murphy USA reported earnings of $7.36 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue fell 8.2% year-over-year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 8.78%.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,592 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 31,455 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Murphy USA worth $16,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $66,731,000 after buying an additional 136,766 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $3,683,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $388.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $384.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $420.61.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value 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 $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MUSA. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $477.33.

About Murphy USA

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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