Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 100 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,664,000 after buying an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $53,387,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $30,122,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $491.93 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $504.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $506.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.80.

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.