Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Raises Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $72.35 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The stock has a market cap 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.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SYY shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.79.

Sysco 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.