Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,559 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 26.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $454.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $473.01 and a 200 day moving average of $496.37. The company has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. 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 Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.