California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 7,766 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,766 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $20,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 148.5% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $618.22 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $564.57 and a 200-day moving average of $496.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $636.04. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.85%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MUSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $585.11.

About Murphy USA

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.