Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $196 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 89,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 2.02% of Murphy USA worth $196,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 3.8% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $533.25 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $331.46 and a 52 week high of $542.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $505.29 and a 200-day moving average of $458.06.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.