Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 2,722 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 262.7% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 243 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $214,000. VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 200.8% in the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 6,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,482 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 18.0% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 937 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 15.4% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $422.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $410.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.59.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MUSA. Stephens increased their price target on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $467.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,325. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,963,381.92. This represents a 15.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,722 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Profile

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.