Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Trims Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH trimmed its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings in Sysco were worth $171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 77,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 7,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. GHE LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sysco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock remained flat at $77.07 during mid-day trading on Friday. 2,072,280 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,339,761. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.78. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $62.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is 48.90%.

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.