Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 301,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,350 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Sysco worth $23,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. New England Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 12.7% during the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company's stock worth $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 29.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company's stock worth $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Sysco by 7.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company's stock worth $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $7,613,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.77.

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Sysco Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE SYY traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.12. 5,118,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,117,807. The business's 50 day moving average is $73.22 and its 200-day moving average is $75.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sysco's payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.