Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 12,591 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,792 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,591 shares during the period. Sysco makes up about 1.5% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $9,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the period. 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 valued at $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Sysco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the third 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, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 103.0% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $75.79 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.74.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

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.