Washington Trust Bank Sells 221 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Washington Trust Bank lowered its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Sysco were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SYY opened at $71.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.36. The company has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. 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 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year 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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

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.