Grimes & Company Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Grimes & Company Inc. cut its holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) by 32.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,203 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 188.7% in the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Corporation has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $82.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.18 and a 200 day moving average of $73.63.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Company Profile

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.