B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $4.35 Million Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,346,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,637,232 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company's stock worth $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Sysco by 112.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,612,092 shares of the company's stock worth $536,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,504,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Sysco by 103.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco Trading Down 1.0 %

Sysco stock opened at $73.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.74 and a 200-day moving average of $74.74. The company has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Sysco's payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

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

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.