Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $528.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $496.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $481.12.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.