Peoples Financial Services CORP. Reduces Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lowered its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $124,000 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 the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 9.7% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $73.98 on Wednesday. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.94 and a 200 day moving average of $75.78. 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 (NYSE:SYY) last announced 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 return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius began 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. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, 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 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco 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.