Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,443 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 166.0% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 10,065 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Sysco by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,068,000 after acquiring an additional 16,772 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 12.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,865,000 after buying an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 54.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $75.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.52 and its 200 day moving average is $74.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $62.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

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.