Martingale Asset Management L P Cuts Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,319 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Sysco were worth $8,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research 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 an average price target of $85.77.

Sysco Trading Up 0.6 %

SYY opened at $77.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.79. 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 quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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 business had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is 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.