Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 38 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $499.51 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.00.

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.