Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 8,854 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,013 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 8,854 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s holdings in Sunoco were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $84,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Sunoco by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Sunoco Stock Down 1.5%

Sunoco stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $53.52. The company had a trading volume of 725,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,606. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $48.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. 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 has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.78 and its 200-day moving average is $55.52.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company 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 firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.8976 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.71%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Sunoco's payout ratio is 64.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sunoco Company 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.