Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 685,430 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 14,799 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Sunoco worth $35,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SUN. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Sunoco by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Sunoco by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Sunoco by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Sunoco by 112.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,446 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SUN shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.83.

Sunoco Stock Down 7.4 %

Sunoco stock traded down $4.24 on Friday, hitting $52.76. 668,796 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 511,179. Sunoco LP has a 1 year low of $49.45 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.62.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 22.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.8865 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.72%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.64%.

About Sunoco

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.