Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP reduced its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 85.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,153 shares of the company's stock after selling 113,130 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Sysco were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Sysco by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 804,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,500,000 after purchasing an additional 516,585 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,054,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,623,000 after purchasing an additional 41,944 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Up 2.0%

SYY traded up $1.41 on Friday, reaching $73.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,702. The stock has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $67.12 and a 1 year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $71.68 and its 200 day moving average is $73.80.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.00.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.