Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $3.07 Million Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Morton Community Bank increased its holdings in Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Sysco by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 1.1 %

Sysco stock opened at $73.69 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.56.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.