Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,548 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,321,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after buying an additional 19,050 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Sysco by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 847,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,763,000 after buying an additional 52,464 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Sysco by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 301,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,067,000 after buying an additional 7,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Sysco by 1,561.6% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

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

Sysco Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $71.12 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.36. The firm has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

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.