Swedbank AB Sells 398,079 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,610,941 shares of the company's stock after selling 398,079 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.33% of Sysco worth $123,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Sysco by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company's stock worth $208,666,000 after purchasing an additional 933,327 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,722,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.21.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $73.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,146,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,528,795. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $76.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.00. The company has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. 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.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.