Bell Investment Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sysco were worth $118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYY. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % 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.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.75 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.14. 113,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,134,072. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.75. The company has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS 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 business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

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.