Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Sysco by 11.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Sysco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Sysco by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.75.

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 company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco 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.