Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 16.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $6,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $492.26 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $339.96 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.95.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 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 yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.