Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 23,144 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.77% of Murphy USA worth $77,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $191,664,000 after buying an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $53,387,000. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,813,000 after buying an additional 86,932 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $24,493,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Murphy USA by 232.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 35,378 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $17,437,000 after buying an additional 24,727 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $495.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, hitting $528.56. The stock had a trading volume of 129,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,157. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average is $496.42 and its 200 day moving average is $480.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

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.