MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $5.17 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,481 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $5,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 40.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $547.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $501.52 and its 200-day moving average is $490.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

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.