Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $73.71 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.48 and a 200 day moving average of $75.88. 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 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.