Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 76.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,362 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 58,430 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $10,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Sysco by 11.5% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Sysco by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,895 shares of the company's stock worth $6,775,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Sysco by 558.4% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 27,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 23,072 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 3.2% in the second quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 10,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 21,093 shares of the company's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 4,575 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sysco Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE SYY traded down $1.04 on Friday, reaching $80.73. 4,833,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,577,383. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.92. 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 (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

About Sysco

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.