BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Reduces Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,866 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $6,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 26.5% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP grew its holdings in Sysco by 12.9% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 18,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the first quarter worth about $658,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 847,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,781,000 after buying an additional 11,244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $75.79 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

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

Sysco Announces Dividend

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

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.