Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,708 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,756 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $39,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,249,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 472 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.09, for a total transaction of $470,643.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,288,355.43. This trade represents a 17.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,935 shares of company stock worth $4,248,945. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.6%

MUSA stock opened at $389.93 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $523.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $392.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.38%.

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.