Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,609 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 676 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,407,000 after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of MUSA traded down $12.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $447.81. The stock had a trading volume of 218,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,544. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $497.77 and its 200 day moving average is $505.46. The firm has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $510.80.

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.