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

Blackstone Inc. decreased its position in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,349,652 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 79,658 shares during the quarter. Blackstone Inc. owned approximately 0.89% of Sunoco worth $69,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sunoco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $84,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Sunoco Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Sunoco stock traded up $2.02 on Wednesday, hitting $55.76. 640,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,329. 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 company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.03. Sunoco LP has a 52 week low of $48.00 and a 52 week high of $59.88.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.8976 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. This is a positive change from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SUN shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.33.

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.