Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 33.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,387 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 19,611 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.19% of Murphy USA worth $19,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.1% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MUSA traded down $5.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $547.80. The company had a trading volume of 120,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,314. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $500.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $489.98.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

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.