Whittier Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank grew its holdings in Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $71.12 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.34. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.33. The stock has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.