Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC cut its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 560,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 175,320 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $226,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $227,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.6%

MUSA opened at $573.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $544.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $636.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.14.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.