Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 9,184 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,184 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $7,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 39,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 42,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 7,128 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens raised their price target on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.84. 3,333,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,474. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $62.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.44 and a 200 day moving average of $75.45. The company has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 99.88% and a net margin of 2.66%. The business had revenue of $19.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.78%.

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.