Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 1,655 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 62.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

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Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $17.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $448.76. 85,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,738. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $486.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $502.70. 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 market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following 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 represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.