Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $53,777,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,122,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,971,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $454.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $473.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.