Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYY. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sysco during the second quarter worth $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $73.02 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.77.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last ninety days. 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.