Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,160,456 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,738 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Sysco worth $88,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company's stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company's stock worth $208,666,000 after buying an additional 933,327 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 11.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth $44,722,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % 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, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.16. 2,549,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,538,545. The company has a market capitalization of $34.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Sysco 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.