Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,761,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,459 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.36% of Sysco worth $134,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $71.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The stock has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.06.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Sysco 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.