B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 1,008 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 103.0% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after buying an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,012,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,240,000 after buying an additional 1,997,895 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $77.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $37.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.60 and its 200-day moving average is $75.32.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sysco

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.