Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,990 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the 2nd 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 position in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $525.02. The stock had a trading volume of 138,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,512. The company has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63 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. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $497.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $484.64.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.