Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 70.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,840 shares of the company's stock after selling 218,584 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Sysco were worth $6,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.04. 1,397,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,332,300. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.12 and a fifty-two week high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYY. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.77.

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.