Dean Investment Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Dean Investment Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,691 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Sysco by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 42,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 6,433 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,821,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Sysco by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 300,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,460,000 after purchasing an additional 98,077 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 135,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 58,430 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $80.73 on Monday. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The stock has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.94. 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 (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % 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, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.