New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 24,727 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 232.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,378 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 24,727 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.17% of Murphy USA worth $17,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at about $461,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,730 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $476,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.1% in the first quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,511,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 19.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded up $18.61 on Wednesday, hitting $510.62. The company had a trading volume of 206,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,987. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $495.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $476.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.