Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,488 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sysco were worth $11,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Sysco during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sysco Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE SYY opened at $71.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.84.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.