MAI Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

MAI Capital Management trimmed its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 31.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,946 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Sysco were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 103.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,824,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,997,895 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,373,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,223,000 after buying an additional 1,192,650 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $75.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.89.

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

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.77.

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.