Truist Financial Corp Decreases Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Truist Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 4.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 22.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,415 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,645 shares of company stock worth $4,326,582. 9.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $412.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $268.69 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.05%.

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.