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

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in 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 quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sysco were worth $243,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sysco in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sysco Stock Performance

Sysco stock opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.68 and its 200 day moving average is $74.75.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 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.