Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lessened its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,562 shares during the quarter. Sysco makes up about 1.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Sysco were worth $20,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi increased its holdings in Sysco by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,730,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,341,000 after buying an additional 809,582 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Sysco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Sysco by 417.2% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 162,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,391,000 after buying an additional 130,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank increased its holdings in Sysco by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $76.53 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.61.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.77.

About Sysco

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.