South Dakota Investment Council Has $2.14 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,274 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,448 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,387,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,122,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $445.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $495.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.02. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 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, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.80.

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.