California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 117,096 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,199 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $41,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,209,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,125,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Murphy USA by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,389,000 after purchasing an additional 72,537 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $421.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.93 and a 12 month high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 6.59%.

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.