Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $6.96 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,595 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.08% of Murphy USA worth $6,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $476,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,594,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $461,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,871,580.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded up $2.83 on Friday, hitting $474.72. The company had a trading volume of 5,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,232. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $450.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.55. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $282.49 and a 1-year high of $489.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.49 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

About Murphy USA

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.