Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 205.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,977 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,920 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $7,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Sysco by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company's stock worth $366,789,000 after purchasing an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company's stock worth $332,983,000 after buying an additional 168,163 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SYY shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,370 shares of company stock worth $5,965,519 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Sysco Trading Up 0.0 %

SYY traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.71. 3,090,745 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,084,034. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.64. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.33. The company has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

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

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Sysco's dividend 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.