Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $38.25 Million Investment in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 490,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,249,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.10% of Sysco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Sysco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,789,000 after acquiring an additional 375,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on 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 research report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

Sysco stock opened at $76.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.70 and its 200 day moving average is $74.76. The company has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.02 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % 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.