Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 1,326 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,878 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,326 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $14,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after acquiring an additional 166,798 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 29.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,706,000 after buying an additional 8,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $71.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.78 and a 200-day moving average of $75.90. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 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 capitalization of $34.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SYY. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Melius began coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.38.

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.