Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Invests $3.70 Million in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 72,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $3,703,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SUN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sunoco by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,916 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 26,808 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Sunoco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,224 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

Sunoco Stock Up 0.9 %

Sunoco stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.89. 209,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,588. The company's fifty day moving average price is $57.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.37. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $49.45 and a fifty-two week high of $61.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.35.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, research analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.8865 per share. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. This is a boost from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.64%.

Sunoco Profile

Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates through two segments: Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel, as well as other petroleum products, such as propane and lubricating oil from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to company-operated retail stores, independently operated commission agents, and retail stores, as well as other commercial customers, including unbranded retail stores, other fuel distributors, school districts, municipalities, and other industrial customers.