Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Fourpath Capital Management LLC

Fourpath Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service boosted its position in Sysco by 15.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 29.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYY. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.85.

Sysco Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of SYY opened at $72.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.02. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.