Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stake Lowered by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,545 shares during the period. Sysco accounts for 0.7% of Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the third quarter worth $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Sysco Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $73.69 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The company has a market cap of $36.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.38 and its 200-day moving average is $75.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

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.