Stifel Financial Corp Increases Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,956 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Sysco worth $39,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 15.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,562,000 after buying an additional 166,798 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Sysco by 3,159.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 6,855 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 29.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company's stock worth $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,833,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,577,383. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The business's fifty day moving average is $76.06 and its 200-day moving average is $74.92.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. Sysco's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

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.