Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 837 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Sysco by 9.7% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 8.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,983,000 after buying an additional 168,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 17.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,918,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,868,000 after buying an additional 569,058 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $73.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.38 and a 200 day moving average of $75.56. The stock has a market cap of $36.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco 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 $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.