Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 7,430 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 174,343 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,430 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $13,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in Sysco by 5.0% during the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 31,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Camden National Bank purchased a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $282,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after purchasing an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $469,000. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new position in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $1,134,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.75.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.