Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,196 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,562,000 after buying an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sysco by 3,159.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,855 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Sysco Stock Up 0.9 %

SYY stock opened at $75.79 on Monday. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.69 and a 200-day moving average of $74.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during 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%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Sysco Company Profile

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.