Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lessened its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 11.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Sysco by 9.7% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after acquiring an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,983,000 after acquiring an additional 168,163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.38.

Sysco Stock Down 0.0 %

SYY stock opened at $71.38 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.99. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Sysco Company 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.