Equitable Trust Co. Purchases 6,208 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,572 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,208 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYY. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $71.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.92. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco 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.