Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Sysco by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,078,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY stock opened at $74.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.98 and its 200 day moving average is $73.64. The firm has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.96%.

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.