iA Global Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,796 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company's stock worth $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company's stock worth $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company's stock worth $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Stock Up 0.4 %

Sysco stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.07. 4,357,727 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,164,620. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $76.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.99. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company 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 earned $1.07 EPS. Sysco's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.