Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 4,400 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Wendell David Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $4,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $73.41 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.54 and a 200 day moving average of $75.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.79.

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.