Primecap Management Co. CA Grows Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Sysco were worth $374,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYY. National Pension Service boosted its position in Sysco by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,562,000 after acquiring an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 3,159.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 6,855 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 17,587 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’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 owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sysco Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $73.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

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). The company 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 for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.