Sky Investment Group LLC Sells 1,790 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sky Investment Group LLC cut its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,790 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $6,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $506,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 53,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Sysco by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.18. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38.

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

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

About Sysco

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.