SFE Investment Counsel Reduces Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,412 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 166.0% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 10,065 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 6.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,068,000 after purchasing an additional 16,772 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 12.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sysco by 1.0% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Sysco by 54.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SYY traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.57. 989,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,919,500. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $62.24 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. The company has a market capitalization of $37.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.52 and a 200 day moving average of $74.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.90%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

About Sysco

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments.