Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,297 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,435 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $7,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,983,000 after buying an additional 168,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

SYY opened at $72.35 on Wednesday. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research 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 was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SYY shares. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.79.

Sysco Company 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.