Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Increases Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,950 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,407 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYY. Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 6,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 881.1% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Sysco by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 32,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 7,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $3,534,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $73.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The stock has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.77.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

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.