Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lessened its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after acquiring an additional 166,798 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,706,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $71.38 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The stock has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.99.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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 last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.