Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) CMO Renee M. Bacon Sells 2,000 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $7.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $455.74. 388,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,350. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $502.32. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $510.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% 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.