Lee Financial Co Cuts Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Lee Financial Co trimmed its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,270 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,461 shares during the quarter. Lee Financial Co's holdings in Sysco were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Sysco by 15.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company's stock worth $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% in 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 period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Sysco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,706,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on SYY shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.38.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.68. 6,875,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,644,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.75. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company's 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 $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the 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 directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,370 shares of company stock worth $5,965,519 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.