Cwm LLC Sells 593 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Cwm LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 593 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $421.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.91. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.93 and a twelve month high of $430.83. The firm has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.