Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 14,799 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & 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 0.45% of Sunoco worth $35,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SUN. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 32,166.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 231,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,137,000 after purchasing an additional 230,634 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Sunoco by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 111,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,742,000 after buying an additional 15,968 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,703,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sunoco by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN opened at $58.73 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $57.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.57. Sunoco LP has a 1 year low of $49.45 and a 1 year high of $60.44. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.35.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.8865 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 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.