Sky Investment Group LLC Sells 1,790 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sky Investment Group LLC lowered its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,790 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $6,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Sysco by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,666,000 after acquiring an additional 933,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.85. The firm has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYY. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.