Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC trimmed its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,136 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,938 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 103.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 1st quarter worth about $178,824,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,012,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997,895 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $137,900,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SYY. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.77.

Sysco Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $75.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.