London Co. of Virginia Sells 28,919 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

London Co. of Virginia lowered its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 170,315 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 28,919 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $68,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $569.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $542.98 and a 200 day moving average of $464.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.02% 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.