LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lowered its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,774 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Sysco by 11.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Down 1.1 %

SYY traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $73.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,697. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.73. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

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 return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. 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.com, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

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.