Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Trims Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,416 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Sysco were worth $5,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SYY. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 $84.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of SYY opened at $74.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.44 and a 200 day moving average of $75.58. The company has a market cap of $36.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 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.