Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,968 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,021 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.43% of Murphy USA worth $44,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 17.9% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 26.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 7,134 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,516,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 79.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,407,000 after buying an additional 3,054 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 24.2% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,023,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.1 %

MUSA stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $489.43. 117,754 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,829. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $505.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.89. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA 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.