Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 294,483 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,071 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Sysco worth $22,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 22,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sysco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Arrow Financial Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 19,993 shares of the company's stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.73. 4,833,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,577,383. The company has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.89. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.