Claro Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Claro Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after buying an additional 2,408,226 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,180 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $137,900,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sysco by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,666,000 after acquiring an additional 933,327 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $74.09 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50-day moving average of $76.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.78.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

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.