Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 19,440 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,595 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 19,440 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Murphy USA worth $21,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $95,940,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,332 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 191.4% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 271 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,502,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $513.84. The stock had a trading volume of 136,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,949. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.78. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $518.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $502.86.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.