SlateStone Wealth LLC Acquires 400 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,420 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Sysco by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank raised its holdings in Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Sysco stock opened at $73.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.51.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

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.