Jeanne Linder Phillips Sells 797 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $455.74 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price is $484.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $502.32. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,387,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $53,777,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.