Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 1,665 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Sysco by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,666,000 after buying an additional 933,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $73.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.48 and its 200 day moving average is $75.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SYY. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.79.

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.