Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 903 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,950 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Sysco during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Price Performance

Sysco stock opened at $73.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.90. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.