Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Sells 8,680 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 522,757 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,680 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. owned 0.11% of Sysco worth $39,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYY. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Morton Community Bank boosted its position in shares of 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. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its position in Sysco by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY stock opened at $72.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $82.23. The company has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.02.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s payout ratio is 55.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SYY shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.38.

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.