Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Acquired by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 12,336 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $45,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $493.00 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $338.36 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $509.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.55%.

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.