Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $31.82 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,411 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $31,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $895,046,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $236,125,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,667,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.9 %

MUSA opened at $490.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.66.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.00.

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.