Williams Financial LLC Sells 250 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Williams Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Sysco accounts for approximately 0.2% of Williams Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Williams Financial LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Sysco by 52.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $44,722,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SYY opened at $72.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $35.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.36 and a 200 day moving average of $75.98. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.85.

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.