Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 2,217 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,217 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 0.29% of Murphy USA worth $28,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,560,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 127,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,336 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $496.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $510.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.19. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.80 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.