Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,684 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,684 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake 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 worth $84,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.33.

Sunoco Price Performance

NYSE SUN opened at $56.60 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Sunoco LP has a 12-month low of $48.00 and a 12-month high of $59.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is 64.68%.

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.