London Co. of Virginia Sells 1,865 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

London Co. of Virginia lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,865 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 1.02% of Murphy USA worth $103,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3%

Murphy USA stock opened at $445.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $476.03 and a 200 day moving average of $494.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $422.66 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

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.