Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stock Position Trimmed by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 92,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,366 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $7,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33.

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 quarter last 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SYY shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.