Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 46,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,534,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 103.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 26.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $137,900,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Sysco by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,666,000 after buying an additional 933,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SYY traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $73.02. 3,555,637 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,913,882. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month 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 price of $76.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.77. The company has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.