Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Sysco by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,984,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $891,758,000 after buying an additional 1,637,232 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Sysco by 112.8% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,612,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,770,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504,740 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 49.8% during 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. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408,226 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of SYY stock opened at $77.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.20. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.74. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $66.27 and a twelve month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

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.