Personal CFO Solutions LLC Trims Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Murphy USA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,841,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $467.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $483.94 and its 200-day moving average is $501.77. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results 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 analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.80.

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.