Aureus Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Aureus Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,590 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sysco by 23.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in Sysco by 4.7% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 79,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco during the second quarter valued at $68,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $76.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.