UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $20,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $915,734,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after acquiring an additional 304,354 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,372,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,726,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.1%

MUSA stock opened at $511.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $349.83 and a 12 month high of $636.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $571.37 and its 200 day moving average is $528.16.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The company’s revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.