Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 608,135 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Sysco worth $47,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company's stock worth $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,012,607 shares of the company's stock worth $429,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997,895 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $137,900,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company'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 $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded down $0.08 on Monday, reaching $76.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,545,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,385. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.39. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its 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). 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. Analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.93.

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.