Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Sells 25,018 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 94.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,423 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 25,018 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $427.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $403.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.63%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $49,890,325. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $6,196,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,564,058.76. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $17,349,722 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $474.83.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.