Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Shares Sold by Blackstone Inc.

Blackstone Inc. cut its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,349,652 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 79,658 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. owned 0.89% of Sunoco worth $69,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Sunoco by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Sunoco Stock Down 2.0 %

SUN traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.38. 542,276 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 489,272. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $48.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.67. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $56.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.09.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.8976 per share. This is a boost from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.33.

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.