Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Sysco by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,859,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,287 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,138,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,435,000 after purchasing an additional 178,464 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,651,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,298,000 after purchasing an additional 265,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,738,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,907,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,320,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,240,000 after purchasing an additional 9,385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SYY opened at $76.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.65. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $62.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.15.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

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.