River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 388 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 367,391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA comprises about 2.4% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 1.79% of Murphy USA worth $181,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,813,000 after acquiring an additional 86,932 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $24,493,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 232.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 35,378 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,437,000 after acquiring an additional 24,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 990.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.33.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $480.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $496.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.43%.

Murphy USA 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.