The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 105,002 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,118,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,002 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.63% of Sysco worth $243,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after acquiring an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $366,789,000 after acquiring an additional 375,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 103.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.77.

Sysco Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.75.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $20.48 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders 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 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.