Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis lowered its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,583 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,483 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Sysco were worth $3,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in Sysco by 143.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock worth $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Sysco by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $687,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,002 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at $97,078,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Sysco Trading Down 2.3 %

SYY stock traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.86. 3,719,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,357,103. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SYY shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.07.

Sysco Company 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.