nVerses Capital LLC Acquires 200 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 86,932 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth about $24,493,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 990.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,527,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MUSA traded down $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $482.12. 10,008 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 200,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $470.45. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

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.