Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stock Position Lowered by Coho Partners Ltd.

Coho Partners Ltd. decreased its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,529,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192,084 shares during the quarter. Sysco accounts for approximately 4.4% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $119,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the second quarter worth $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the second quarter worth $38,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.08.

Sysco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SYY opened at $74.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.82. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $64.28 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 102.09%. The business had revenue of $20.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 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.