Segment Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,756,000 after purchasing an additional 13,450 shares during the period. Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $325,000. Mustard Seed Financial LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $394.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $385.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.63.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.92 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.17.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.