Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 22,513 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 608,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Sysco worth $47,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after buying an additional 166,798 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Sysco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $76.97 on Monday. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.70 and its 200 day moving average is $75.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.