HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,697 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Sunoco by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of SUN stock opened at $57.26 on Wednesday. Sunoco LP has a 12 month low of $49.45 and a 12 month high of $61.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.37. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.8865 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is 53.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SUN. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.67.

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.