Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco during the third quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SYY stock opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.75. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 is 52.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.