Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. cut its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,384 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,897 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,133,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 622.9% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded down $10.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $459.50. The company had a trading volume of 280,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,594. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $470.76 and its 200-day moving average is $493.03. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

About Murphy USA

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.